House sales jump 40% in March

Cat695

Quite an interesting read because it says that

"There were 60,000 property sales worth at least £40,000 each, compared to just 43,000 in February."

Which says to me either people with LARGE deposits are buying OR some bloody cheap houses being sold.

"The figures suggest that the slump in home sales seen in the past 18 months may be coming to an end."

All well and good but it then says

"The CML does not foresee a lasting, significant increase in lending volumes until funding conditions improve"

It does go on to say this could be just because there is normally a jump in sales at this time of year anyway!!
Oh and sales are still less than HALF of last year!!

Read and you decide!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8010785.stm

Cat695

I would like to point out it does not say HOUSE PRICES ARE INCREASING!!!

Sorry I forgot the link....ooops

whathavewedone

Just in case we can't read for ourselves...very helpful, thanks

Andrew64

Cat695 wrote: »

OR some bloody cheap houses being sold.

New-build flats being flogged off by desperate developers at rock-bottom prices?

Mr_Falling_Star

Hmm. seasonally adjusted the figures show still show a 13% increase. I think whichever way you look at this it shows yet more evidence of a thaw in the housing market

StevieJ

The trouble is you have to read every article very critically and ask the question - What do the people releasing this information wish us to believe
What do the CML want at this juncture? Increasing prices/sales or reducing? We used to know, increasing prices increased the security of their loans, so the bears used to carp at their house price info. Currently it is in their hands, they control the funds and have an undue influence on the value put on properties. I get the impression they now want property prices down even though it reduces the security of their mortgage book, so every announcment now comes with a negative crtitique.

whathavewedone

I agree. Things are not going to change overnight but certainly the freefall in house prices that we've seen over the last 12-18 months seems to be over. I reckon another 10% down max, slowly over the course of 2009 and 2010.

Really2

I agree a greater number of transactions = slower falls. Bottom & stagnation looks very likely for the end of this year/ start of next year.

StevieJ

Fair dinkum to Cat at least he is delivering stories from both sides of the debate :T
Not many of the Uber bears do that.

Davesnave

Yes, I think it shows that there has been a revival of interest, some of which has been translated into sales. Some interest has been wishful thinking and window shopping too.

In the sector I'm looking at, many of the decent properties have gone SSTC in the past two months, but that's not FTB stuff, or even 'executive' (!) 3 beds; more properties for those with cash/large deposits. I think this shows that those with the wherewithal either won't wait, or else they have bought into the idea that some kind of bottom has been reached.

Looking at it from a purely personal POV, I 'lost' about £50k on the last property I sold, and in February I could have 'saved' up to about £50k on some decent properties, relative to 2008 prices. So, I could have jumped into the market again without 'loss.' The reason that I didn't was partly due to not finding exactly what I wanted, but also coloured by the belief that I can do better by waiting.

Not everyone can wait however, and not everyone thinks it will be worth it.

And that's 'balanced' too, innit?

System

Cat695 wrote: »

Oh and sales are still less than HALF of last year!!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=20872229&postcount=34