According to an industry commentator, the demand for new mortgages has fallen over the last four months. Rising interest rates have been blamed.
According to the commentator, demand has fallen from 30,000 in May 2004 to 20,000 in August 2004. Average house prices have apparently fallen from £207,000 in May 2004 to £196,000 in August 2004. The Bank of England's data claims a fall in demand of around 15%. This is the sharpest drop seen since 1993.
Our View
There has been a definite drop in house prices over the last month or so. Also, many houses are taking longer to sell, resulting in more than one estate agent being involved. This means a buyer's market is again upon us, with supply outstripping demand. Those people needing to sell quickly could well be open to offers, and prepared to accept lower values for their property.
As always, we would recommend buyers make sure they can afford the mortgage payments, even if interest rates were 2% higher.