subject: London Property Market 2010 [print this page] "Economists this summer are painting a gloomy picture regarding the London housing market. Recent surveys have shown a decrease in housing prices that seems to be offsetting whatever gains were made earlier in the year. The monthly survey published last week by the the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has indicated that housing prices are dropping overall for the first time since last summer. While this may seem to be good news to the prospective home buyer, keep in mind that part of the decrease has been partly attributed to the lack of lending funds available. Mervyn King, the Bank of England Governor, recently said that "banks are still repairing their balance sheets" and that they are having to raise funding "at very high costs, and that makes it difficult for banks to lend".
The property website Rightmove has found that property sellers lowered their asking prices by 1.7% over the past month and that asking prices have fallen over 4000 to an average asking price of 232,241. This has some economists warning of a "relapse" in the housing market. So what does all this mean to the prospective seller or buyer?
For the seller it means waiting longer to get asking prices, and the number of sellers currently outnumbers buyers, plus the demand is hindered. For the buyer, it can mean a discounted price, but with the mortgage squeeze, it seems no one has much to benefit from in the sluggish market,. From all indicators, this trend is not likely to reverse itself soon. If you are a savvy seller or buyer, you should be able to weather the storm if you employ patience and common sense.
Sellers - take your time and stick to your asking price - it make take a little longer, though, to get it. Buyers - take full advantage of the drop in prices, and if possible, put up a larger deposit or else the drop in prices won't mean much in real terms.
For the first-time buyer who is moving out of their leased property, cutting moving costs is an important factor. Money is tight, so when you are finally ready to pack the china and haul the furniture, it's a good idea to shop around for an inexpensive end of tenancy cleaning service.
So take advantage of one of the many low-cost end of tenancy cleaning London firms who can help you make your move into home ownership a little more painless."
