04 April 2011

House Prices Rose by 0.5% In March

A survey by Nationwide building society found that house prices rose by 0.5% in March. In reality this news should not be too awful for first-time buyers: House prices have only increased by 0.1% on last year.

Although prices have gone up a little, this should not be taken to be the new trend in the housing market. Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardener made it clear that the outlook for the housing market remains uncertain.

One key problem for the housing market is that first time buyers are not being approved for mortgages; therefore many people can neither buy nor sell their property. There is very little movement in the property market.

A recent report by the Bank of England has found that the number of households defaulting on mortgages rose in the first quartile of 2011. If people default they risk losing their house which may add some dynamism to the market.    

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