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Flat housing market in 2010, predicts NAEA

Wednesday 16th December 2009

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has predicted a largely flat year for the housing market in 2010, with buyer enthusiasm hugely dependent on the health of the mortgage lending market.
The trade body said house prices could remain flat, or, in some markets drop slightly for the first six months, before picking up again and remaining stable in the second half of the year.

Supply will remain stable in the run up to the General Election, after which there are likely to be more houses available for sale, particularly if Home Information Packs are scrapped, said the NAEA.

In the run up to the General Election we are likely to see a lull in activity, it said, as people adopt a "wait and see" approach. A number of buyers will continue to take advantage of lower interest rates and well-priced property but an uplifts in first0-time buyers will be critical to market success.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, said: "While not being a brilliant year, 2009 was for many agents much better than the year before. In 2008 many couldn't see how they would survive, in 2009 for a lot of agents there was at least enough activity to keep the business going. This was certainly a year of survival of the fittest and those able to offer a first class service.

"The beginning of 2010 sees several things happen. The stamp duty holiday will end, despite warnings from much of the property industry that this is a mistake, and this has the potential to reverberate around the market.”

"During the year we have however seen a pick up in demand as many take advantage of lower prices and interest rates. This clearly indicates that the British public still believes that investing in bricks and mortar is the right thing to do, added Bolton-King.

He said there have been encouraging levels of first time buyers throughout 2009 and I would hope this continues into 2010. Again, the situation with lending will have an impact. The NAEA believes that responsible lending to responsible people is crucial to any recovery.

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Posted By Stuart Duncan on Wednesday 16th December 2009 13:23:43

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The NAEA clearly has not read the FSA Mortgage Market Review (MMR) Proposals. If they had, their comments would be far less optimistic than this. The MMR is an attack on any borrower who does not fit the "Standard" box and is an absolute timebomb. If it goes ahead in its current form, the housing market will be shattered.

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