House Price Market Update for October 2010
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The property market continues to be subdued in the lead up to Xmas and is likely to go very quiet over the Xmas period. For buyers and investors, it is a great time to grab a bargain, for those that are desperate to sell, unless you can drop your price to secure one of the few buyers out there, you might as well take your property off the market until January 2011.
For 2011, there is a real danger that the lack of properties for sale and a low number of buyers will end up with the market remaining very sluggish. A lack of properties for sale won't help 'kick start' the housing market. If sellers can't see a choice of properties to buy and 'doom and gloom' is constantly reported by the media, their incentive to up and move sticks is very low.
As few properties come onto the market, buyers get bored looking and as securing a mortgage continues to be tough, they will decide to 'stay put' and carry on saving until the market 'picks up'. With both buyers and sellers not keen to move forward, there is a real danger that the housing market will remain stagnant for at least another year. Good news for anyone involved in renting and letting, not so good news for anyone desperate to sell!
- When is the right time to invest?
If you are looking to invest for the long term, then now is a good time to buy a well researched property.
- When is the right time to sell?
If you are trading up, then it's worth selling now at a reasonable price if it means you can secure a property that you really want to stay in for the next 5-10 years.
- When is the next time to buy?
Ideally buy only if you are able to stay in the property for 3-5 years ie until the economy and lending starts to recover. Othewise it might be worth hanging on until you have a decent deposit or find a bargain property.
- When is the next time to Build your Own Home?
As long as there is a recession on, self build becomes a great idea. Bargain hard on land purchases and materials!
READ MORE - Read Kate's latest summary on the property market and find out what's happening in your area, ignore the headlines, let Kate help you work it out for yourself. READ MORE
Performance and commentary since January 2009:-
Click here to see our latest buying/selling articles
Headline Statistics for October 2010
Headline Statistics | Statistics | +/- | Source | Month |
Average Prices | £166,769 to £236,849 | +5.2% to +2.9% YoY | Land Registry Lowest
Rightmove Highest | Sept/Oct data |
Transactions* | 57,152* | +12.36% YoY | Land Registry | Apr to Jul 10 |
Time to Sell | 9.6 Weeks | Up on last month | Hometrack | October |
Number of viewings to sale | 12 | No change from last month | Hometrack | October |
Offer to Market Price | 92.7% | Down on last month | Hometrack | October |
% change in new buyers registering with agents | -2.0% | Up on last month | Hometrack | October |
No of houses sold by agents | 7 | No change on previous month | NAEA | September |
% sold versus for sale boards | 24.4% | An increase on last month | For Sale Sign Analysis | October |
Number of new mortgages | 47,369 | A slight decrease on last month | Bank of England | September |
* Per month
Sold versus For Sale Sign Boards data*
Month 2010 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct |
Percentage
Sold | 26% | 26.4% | 25.4% | 26.5% | 30.9% | 25.5% | 26% | 25.8% | 22.3% | 24.4% |
Month 2009 | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Percentage
Sold | 16% | 12% | 17% | 19.5% | 21.1% | 28.3% | 29.5% | 30.2% | 36.3% | 27.3% | 31% | 34% | 26.7% |
*Data provided by FSSA, for more information on this data,
Contact usLinks to useful Buying and Selling Reports
Price Indices
There are at least seven property indices and other companies that comment on the property market, please checkout the links below:-
Rightmove Halifax Nationwide RICS
Communities Financial Times Land Registry Other Useful Resources
Hometrack NAEA RICS Savills Knight FrankDOWNLOAD Savills Residential Property Focus for Winter 2010
For more market commentary on a national or local level:-
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