Laura Howard, Tuesday July 22, 2008
The number of property sales has slumped to the lowest level on record - and the fall threatens to send house prices plunging. Yet there are still ways you can buck the market and tempt potential buyers - we show you how it’s done
If, as you read this, there’s a ‘For Sale’ sign up outside your property, you’ll be all too
aware of the current state of the housing market. The latest report from industry body the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows that the number of property transactions has sunk to its
lowest level since records began. Estate agents made, on average, just 15.3 sales each in June,
according to the RICS figures.
And as a result, house prices are continuing to fall – the value of our homes fell by 0.9% in
June, according to figures from Nationwide Building Society. Halifax data charts the fall at 2.1%.
In real terms, this means that your home is worth between 6.1% and 7.3% less than it was this time
last year.
And that’s if you can sell it.
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right mortgage for your needs
Housing slowdown
According to figures from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), there were just
247 potential buyers registered on an agent’s books in May - which compares to much healthier 421
in May 2004. So sellers should brace themselves for some strong bargaining power.
However, it’s not all one-sided. There are plenty of measures you can take - either low-cost
or free - to make your home as appealing as possible to buyers. We show you how it’s done.
