If we were all to take note of the constant doom and gloom in the current financial situation of the UK, I’m sure that no-one would even leave the house for fear of losing money or at best – to save money! However, with the inevitable cycle of boom and decline there are some good things to be aware of…or are there?

Reading a current online article about UK house prices crash, I was reflecting on the housing boom period that was fuelled by such programmes as Property Ladder or Location, Location, Location. Since we have all been told about the housing market being as safe as ‘houses’ and that the market could not crash, it comes as no surprise that we don’t see these programmes at the moment. 

But this is not all doom and gloom. Reading another article on the BBC it was reassuring to see that property sales rose in October for the second month in a row according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). This means that sellers were being more realistic with their asking prices stimulating the market to buy.

As people have realised that they need to cut prices in order to sell it now becomes evident that the sellers no longer hold all the aces. People are looking for better prices and this requires the selling price to fall – below what they wouldn’t have considered a year ago. As saving money in on everyone’s mind there are other ways of getting around the reduction in house prices.

Taking control of your finances and reducing the costs is a winning way. With the mounting Estate Agent fees together with HIPs and stamp duty, the reduction in the selling price makes things really tight. However, there is one way to reduce these costs – sell your house privately.

By listing your own house without an estate agent you can manage the costs of advertising as well as the overall selling price. Imagine removing all the heartache of finding the right estate agent and deciding on the right selling price? Selling your own home can be a stressful experience and using the service UKHousing.com provide can make this simple and save you thousands. With 70% of house hunters going online to look for a property what better way to make the most of the current market and sell your house privately?

Why not think about how much you can save if you sell your own house and balance out the reduced selling price? Its simple and UKHousing.com can help.

I don't think estate agents should take the blame for the rise in house prices and subsequent large falls.

They were simply doing their job, which is (was) to get as much commission as possible for themselves and realise the highest value for the property.

I do however blame the banking system and indirectly the government for allowing this house price explosion to occur in the first place, becuase when even first time buyers in the North of England, earning a wage which is above the national average are struggling to get onto the housing ladder, alarm bells should have been ringing loud and clear in number 10!

At this point steps needed to be taken to address the irresponsible lending which was going on and the bank of England given a new mandate.

Call me a cynic, but I looked into buying a shared ownership apartment some months ago and was left with the feeling that the whole scheme was a trick to allow me to buy a fraction of an overpriced property and pay rent of the remaining portion. 

If the banks would not lend me a mortgage with repayment of 1000 pounds per month, why would they lend me 600, knowing that I still had a further 400 pounds in rent to pay? They shouldn’t right? But this was how shared ownership works. Smoke and mirrors!

As a result of the cheapness of money and the ever more imaginative ways of getting people onto the housing ladder , the UK went property mad, with countless property shows illustrating how even the most inept Neanderthal can make money from property.

Now the party is over and we all have the hangover and collectively as a society we need to adapt.

My thoughts go out to all who, like myself, are caught with negative equity. I console myself by saying that negative equity is not going to be an issue for me until I need to sell, which is not going to be for a while.

Other people are not so lucky as this credit crunch and subsequent fall in property values are leading us ever further into a major economic downturn.

So who do I blame..?

Everyone.

We all got greedy and brought into the myth of money for nothing. We should remember that a house is a home, not a Magic piggy bank.

Sometime in the next few years, house prices will start to rise again, but with fewer estate agents (thanks to this downturn, and ukhousing.com) and financial institutions.

I don't think estate agents should take the blame for the rise in house prices. They were simply doing their job, which is (was) to get as much commission as possible for themselves and realise the highest value for the property.

I do however blame the banking system and indirectly the government for allowing this house price explosion to occur in the first place, because when even first time buyers in the North of England, earning a wage which is above the national average are struggling to get onto the housing ladder, alarm bells should have been ringing loud and clear in number 10!

At this point steps needed to be taken to address the irresponsible lending which was going on and the bank of England given a new mandate.

Instead, all we got from the government and house builders, were ever more imaginative schemes to allow people to get onto the housing ladder, like shared ownership.

Call me a cynic, but I looked into buying a shared ownership apartment some months ago and was left with the feeling that the whole scheme was a trick to allow me to buy a fraction of an overpriced property and pay rent of the remaining portion.

My point was whether I am paying 600 pounds Mortgage and 400 pounds rent , 1000 pounds is still leaving my back account every month!

If the banks would not lend me a mortgage with repayment of 1000 pounds per month, why would they lend me 600, knowing that I still had a further 400 pounds in rent to pay? They shouldn’t right?.. But this was how shared ownership works. Smoke and mirrors!

As a result of the cheapness of money and the ever more imaginative ways of getting people onto the housing ladder , the UK went property mad, with countless property shows illustrating how even the most inept Neanderthal can make money from property.

Now the party is over and we all have the hangover and collectively as a society we need to adapt.

My thoughts go out to all who, like myself, are caught with negative equity. I console myself by saying that negative equity is not going to be an issue for me until I need to sell, which is not going to be for a while.

Other people are not so lucky as this credit crunch and subsequent fall in property values are leading us ever further into a major economic downturn.

So who do I blame..?

Everyone.

We all got greedy and brought into the myth of money for nothing. We should remember that a house is a home, not a Magic piggy bank.

Sometime in the next few years, house prices will start to rise again, but with fewer estate agents (thanks to this downturn, and ukhousing.com) and financial institutions.

Peter James writes for UKHousing.com, where you can save thousands from Private House Sales without an estate agent.

Estate agencies are closing branches at the rate of 150 a week, with 4,000 job losses since the start of the year.

The number of estate agency branches has fallen from about 13,000 at the start of the year to about 12,000. Removal firms have also laid off hundreds of staff after a 26 per cent fall in the number of properties changing hands over the past 12 months. The job losses are the clearest sign yet of the impact the global credit crisis and housing market slowdown have had on the wider economy. Source: Harry Wallop and Gordon Rayner.

Despite the recent government intervention in the British banking sector, unless banks and building societies increase lending to mortgage applicants, worse will come be to come. “I think House prices will drop for another 4 years and will return to 2007 levels in roughly a decade.” Daniel Tomas – Property Correspondent Financial Times. BBC Money Program - Property: The End of the Affair?

The number of mortgages approved for home buyers has fallen by 44 per cent in 12 months to its lowest level since the Bank of England began collecting data 15 years ago. Without access to mortgages, potential home buyers cannot move house, meaning a sharp fall in business for any company that depends for its trade on people wanting to move. Estate agencies have been particularly badly hit.

Debtwire, an organisation that monitors the health of companies, said the number of estate agency branches had fallen from about 13,000 at the start of the year to about 12,000. The rate of closures is accelerating and presently stands at 150 a week. Sources in the field said that with each branch employing an average of four people, the number of job losses was about 4,000.

Peter Bolton King, the chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: "The irony is that there is no shortage of people who want to move house, but without mortgages they just can't do so. "Estate agents are having to close because there just isn't enough movement in the housing market and that is likely to have a much wider impact because a healthy housing market is essential for the health of the high street. "When no one is moving, the negative feeling that creates tends to make people tighten their purse-strings. "The only way things will improve is when banks and building societies start to open up their lending criteria so people can borrow money and then the housing market will start moving again."

Last week, three leading house price indices showed that prices had started to fall in earnest, with property values lower than a year ago. Mortgage lending has been affected by the worldwide credit crisis, with first-time buyers particularly badly hit. A year ago many lenders offered 100 per cent mortgages, but now most will give only 90 per cent. This means a first-time buyer needs an average of £25,000 to cover a deposit, stamp duty and other fees. As well as 100 per cent and even 95 per cent mortgages being withdrawn, interest rates have risen, making the cost of borrowing prohibitively high for many first-time buyers.

The British Association of Removers said yesterday that hundreds of workers had been laid off as the trade went through its worst period in 20 years. Business in the first three months of this year was down 40 per cent on last year. Steve Jordan, an association spokesman, said: "The removal market is as bad as 1989-90 and possibly worse."
Source:telegraph.

Have Your Say:

Should estate agents take the blame for pushing house prices too high or are we (home owners) to blame for being greedy by expecting house prices to rise?