Market requires confidence

The property market is stabilising after a period of uncertainty, says the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), although there are still considerable regional variations.

As sales agreed, numbers of viewings and the difference between asking and sales prices all reach a level of healthy stability, the NAEA has argued that buyers need to stop adopting a ‘wait and see’ attitude. ‘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,’ it notes.

However, what people need to bear in mind, says the report, is that the market is stable and we are not seeing considerable price drops. ‘There are still strong economic factors at play, such as high employment and low interest rates and sales are still taking place,’ said Chris Brown, President of the NAEA. ‘Moreover, people need places to live and property purchase remains a good long term investment,' he continued.