The Housing Market Is Nothing But a Buyer’s Market For The Forseeable Future
Surveyors in the UK have been reporting that more people are now putting their homes back on the market for sale, even though the housing market in general is still moving very slowly. But this has done little for the extremely slow increase in house prices in the UK.
The number of buyers viewing property has also increased – helped in part by some excellent weather at Easter – but continued problems in obtaining mortgage finance is hampering many potential purchasers. Unless buyers have a good sized deposit, it is tough to obtain the mortgage they need to buy property.
The lack of activity is therefore stalling any housing market recovery and experts do not believe this is likely to change any time soon. Whilst Michael Newey from RICS believes that ‘the return of sellers to the market is positive’ other factors are holding back any significant recovery.
Indeed, the majority of Brits don’t expect property prices to rise over the next year. A recent survey from the property company Rightmove found that 68 per cent of people think house prices will be broadly the same or higher than they are now in twelve month’s time.
The same research also found that just under one quarter of people expect property prices to fall over the next year. However, if you want to take advantage of these low prices you have to have saved up a decent sized deposit.
The poll also asked whether people believed that properties were currently undervalued, with over 40% of people answering yes. Of course, this may explain while, although there is more activity in terms of houses being put on the market, it is still nothing like the numbers that we saw before the financial crisis.
If you can’t find the necessary deposit in order to buy a new home, one way to try and save a bit of extra cash is to remortgage. With interest rates at a record low level, securing a better mortgage rate when your current deal expires could save you money. By researching the best remortgage deals you could reduce your repayments, making savings every month that you can put towards your deposit when you eventually move home.
The Rightmove research also discovered that almost half of people looking to buy a new home think that properties are overvalued. Unsold properties with estate agents recently took its ‘highest jump in four years’ according to RightMove’s House Price Index, suggesting that houses are not selling because the prices being asked are simply too high.
If you cannot reduce your property price in order to sell your home then an alternative could be to look at remortgage deals to reduce your repayments. You can delay the sale of your home for a year or two until the property market starts to recover and benefit from lower mortgage repayments in the meantime.
Reducing your repayments will allow you to put aside extra cash. With property prices unlikely to fall much below their current level, you could find yourself in a much more advantageous position in a couple of years when you decide to move house.
Timothy Frodsham writes for JustRemortgages.com one of the UK’s top sites for the latest remortgage rates and best remortgage deals.