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Current:
Strong
Forecast: Slowing, but remaining strong
One-Third Chance of House
Prices Dropping By 2010
A
new study published by accounts PriceWaterhouseCoopers
(PWC) suggests that there is around a 33% probability
that house prices will be lower, in
real terms, by 2010. PWC modelled a variety of different
scenarios, and found that a sub 10% drop by 2010 was
the most likely scenario.
However,
even in PWC's worst-case scenario, there was a less
than 2% chance that prices would be lower than they
are now in 2020, and a 50% chance that they would be
more than 40% higher than at present,
supporting many people's belief that property represents
one of the best long-term investments.
October Gains Half Those of September
Property
prices rose by an average of 0.7% in
October, a strong result, but only half the recorded
rate of increase for September, suggesting that the
market is beginning to stabilise somewhat, perhaps as
a result of the rise in interest rates
in August and the widely-expected further rise in next
week.
This
latest rise means that the average UK house is worth
£12,500 more than a year ago, at £169,623.
Further signs of ongoing strength in the housing market
came as the Bank of England released data showing that
October saw the highest rate of mortgage approvals,
an indicator of demand, since February 2004.
Investment in Property
Pays Off
Ten
years have now elapsed since the housing market recovered
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