Recession Watch : Signs of recovery in the UK property market

Over the last few weeks we have seen a constant stream of depressing news from the UK property sector although the last few days have given hope to those trapped in negative equity and struggling to cover their mortgages. As we often see at the potential bottom of any recession, there have been property price reports which have given significantly different signals on the upside and downside. These are events which often happen at the turn of an economic cycle and can, in some cases, indicate the bottom or top of the market.



The differing reports from the Nationwide and Halifax have fuelled the fire of hope for a short to medium-term recovery in the UK property market with news today of increased enquiry numbers also adding fuel to the fire. Whether we are actually at the bottom of the UK recession, and when we may see a recovery, are two totally separate stages of the economic cycle. Those who believe the end is in sight could be right, but they could also be disappointed if, as many expect, there is not a significant short term "bounce" in the UK market. Bottoming out of a downward trend and bouncing back require different ingredients and can happen over vastly different timescale.