‘No end in sight for housing slump’

There is no end in sight for the ongoing downturn in the UK’s housing sector, according to the majority of people quizzed by YouGov recently.

Close to three-quarters of the British consumers questioned said that they expect to see the average price of property in the UK decrease over the course of the next 12 months.

Falling property prices could be bad news for anyone with a mortgage-related debt management burden but the prospects for the housing sector look unfavourable as far as homeowners are concerned.

“It is clear the positive outlook that has characterised the property market for the last few years is now a thing of the past, and people expect prices to fall over the next year,” said Adrian Coles, director general of the Building Societies Association.

Howard Archer from Global Insight recently suggested that the property market in the UK is “being throttled” by a lack of affordability and tightening lending criteria.

By Frank Charlton