Homeowners see £30,000 knocked off property values
Information from the Halifax has shown a 16.2% reduction in the price of UK property during 2008 which equates to a fall of £30,000 from an average family home. This is the biggest fall in over 25 years and with further reductions expected in 2009 it could get very much worse before it starts to improve. So what next?
As finance for the UK mortgage market continues to recede, ahead of an expected reduction in base rates, there is little demand and little prospect of this changing in the short term. The announcement that UK banks are not willing to pass on future base rate cuts to customers has shown the disdain which customers are attracting from the UK banking sector. It would appear that the taxpayer led multibillion pound bailout has been long forgotten as the banking sector continues to retrench its defensive position.
The government is becoming ever more desperate and innovative in its pursuit of breathing life back into the property market which should then assist the UK economy as a whole. However, despite much work in the foreground and behind the scenes there appears to be little progress or improvement in the market.
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