Despite high hopes that the UK property sector was indeed returning to growth, these hopes were dashed in January with news of a 49% reduction in the number of home loans issued in the UK. It would appear that the stamp duty holiday introduced by the government in 2009, which ended in December 2009, led to a surge in property acquisitions towards the end of 2009. After the stamp duty holiday ended it seems that property buyers in the UK have abandoned the market, at least in the short term.

Despite the fact that overall mortgage agreements fell by 49% in January it is the 54% reduction in first time buyer mortgages which is even more worrying. First-time buyers are the lifeblood of the UK property sector, allowing those on the property ladder to move elsewhere and create additional buying pressure across the market. If the number of first-time buyers continues to remain relatively low in the first half of 2010 we could well see UK property prices begin to tail off which could lead to a strike amongst buyers and potentially more properties being placed on the market.

The UK property sector would appear to be at something of a crossroads and the next move is critical!

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