Can we believe the figures coming from the estate agent market?
Despite the fact that mortgage liquidity in the UK is still at near record lows the National Association of Estate Agents has released information this week suggesting that each property for sale is attracting four buyers. Many people are sceptical of such upbeat figures although they are based upon buyers registering their interest with local estate agents. So what do these figures tell us?
Is debatable as to whether every one of these potential buyers is a serious buyer or whether we are still seeing investors "bottom fishing" before the expected rise in property prices. It would be foolish to suggest that the UK property market has not improved even a little over the last few weeks but we have yet to see any real follow-through with regards to property prices. Showing interest in a property and actually bidding for a property are two very different situations and in many ways should be kept separate.
The main figures we are looking for in the UK property market are property prices and transaction numbers which will eventually lead to an upturn. So far we have yet to see any significant increase in prices or any significant increase in actual transaction numbers which pours scorn on some of the more upbeat forecasts for the sector in the short term.
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