Low consumer confidence is still prevalent in the property market
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) say that consumer confidence is low although the property markets are stabilsing in specific regions. The stability comes in the form of sales agreed, a good number of viewings before a sale and the average difference between an asking price and the actual sale price agreed.
President of the NAEA, Chris Brown, said: “The figures from the April report suggest that the market is stable, however, consumer confidence is still dented.”
“Properties supply is good but buyers are being cautious. It is apparent from the survey results that some people are adopting a ‘wait and see attitude’, watching the market, before making any decisions.”
“Many, especially first time buyers, will be feeling the results of the credit crunch and tighter lending leading to them being unable to move onto the ladder or up the chain. Some agents are also finding it difficult to stop sales falling through as people get ‘cold feet’ or fail to secure mortgages but we must remember that this happens in the best of markets.”
“However, what people need to remember is that the market is stable and we are not seeing massive price drops. There are still strong economic factors at play, such as high employment and low interest rates and sales are still taking place. Moreover, people need places to live and property purchase remains a good long term investment.”
The number of viewings before a sale remains steady at 14. This is only 2 up on the same time last year. The average difference between sale price and asking price is 4.7 per cent. There is a decline in the number of sellers on estate agent books down from 249 in March 2008 to 237 according to reports from NAEA members.
As you might predict, first time buyers remain uneasy about making that commitment to purchase, first time buyer numbers dropped from 8.3 per cent to 7.7 per cent in just 1 month from March to April 2008.
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