UK house sales are now at their lowest since 1978.
Estate agents sold only 10 houses on average in the last 3 months despite the Bank of England rate cuts, according to RICS. New mortgage approvals have been as lower in over a decade, if not lower.
After all no one can blame a lack of demand in housing sector or new mortgages. Unless people feel relatively confident about their job prospects, they’re unlikely to even try to obtain mortgage finance. And vendors still have to accept the inevitable fact that house prices are falling and re-price their property to suit current market conditions. Many home owners, uncertain of their job prospects are finding about more about the inevitable, like stopping repossession or sell and rent back schemes operated by many companies.
All this is reflected by the state of British economy – which is already pretty bad at the moment. Thanks to credit crunch, the Pound has dropped 25% this year alone – prompting deep rate cuts by BoE, to their lowest levels since 1951. The inflation rate is also low now, thanks to lower oil prices. Country’s economy contracted 0.5 percent in the third quarter this year and the central bank has predicted that the economy will contract further through most of next year.
Filed under: Housing Market
