Spring 2011

Unfortunately nobody knows what is going to happen to house prices or whether we are at or near the bottom of the market.

We believe that the downward pressure on house prices will continue in until some form of equilibrium establishes itself.

Factors pushing down house prices include:

• Reduction in the amount lenders will advance as a multiple of income
• Fewer lenders operating in the market
• The prospect of higher interest rates
• Current economic difficulties and uncertainty

Factors influencing stabilization include

• New stable Government
• Prices already down up to 50% in some areas
• Unsatisfied demand as a result of dramatic slowdown in past two years
• Prospects for moderate wage based employment growth
• Area based demand-where some areas especially in large cities have an inherent level of demand

So what do you do?

Our advice would be to bargain hard if you have a specific property that attracts you.You need to assess the level of competition for the property and to have no fear about offering well below the asking price and working from there.