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Homeowners hope to make most of house price falls
12 June 2008 11:30
Some homeowners, far from being deterred by falling prices, plan to take advantage of them and buy property now while it's cheaper, according to a new survey.
Data from Nationwide indicates that the average house price fell by 4.4 per cent year-on-year to £173,583 in May, while the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has reported that 92.9 per cent of surveyors recorded a dip rather than a rise in prices last month.
In this environment, almost one in 25 people plan to rise up the property ladder over the next year in the hope of finding a bargain, Abbey's new poll showed, with another one in 40 aiming to sell up and then rent until prices reach their lowest ebb before buying again.
Yet this group is very much a minority, with two thirds of homeowners not expecting to move, while one in eight will see how prices change before making a decision and one in 33 are actually planning to downsize so as to stave off the effects of the credit crunch.
Moreover, Abbey's director of mortgages Phil Cliff warned property owners who think decreasing house prices are a good reason to move to obtain advice first before doing so, given that, for most of them, their home is their biggest asset.
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