As winter turns to spring and people’s minds turn to the likely upshot of the economic turmoil in Britain and its impact on the property market (at least mine does), we present a snapshot of the sentiment among property experts and commentators:


Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS):

“I think that confidence has improved since the end of the year but it remains fragile and has a strong regional dimension. Confidence in London and the South East is more upbeat than in many other parts of the country, in particular parts of the Midlands and the North.

“Our headline forecast remains unchanged with prices projected to be 2 per cent lower in the last quarter of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010. However, there will be significant regional variation with London the only area to be slightly up.”


Dr. Howard Archer, chief European & UK economist at IHS Global Insight:

“Interest rates could well rise in the second quarter, although we expect the first hike to come in August. However, interest rates are likely to rise only gradually due to the need to offset the tight fiscal squeeze.”


Martin Ellis, head of housing economics at Halifax:

“Overall, we expect a modest 2pc decrease in house prices in 2011. Uncertainty over the economic outlook is likely to weigh down on housing demand this year.”


Melanie Bien, director of independent mortgage broker Private Finance:

“Interest rates will start rising in the next few months but I believe this will now happen at the end of the summer – September, rather than May. The economy is simply too fragile and the impact would be so devastating for many home owners already struggling to make ends meet that I think a move will be delayed for as long as possible.”


David Hollingworth, spokesman at London & Country Mortgages:

“Home owners are really quite confident about the prospects for house prices, which comes as a surprise in a market that continues to face some significant challenges.”


Original comment can be found at The House Prices Advisory

This site is written and contributed to by property professionals from inside the UK House Building Industry.
That's right, we're developers - hated by all for our unwavering pursuit of profit and demonic need to concrete over the UK's greenbelt.
You may well wonder why we (as opposed to estate agents) are best equipped to advise you on the subject of selling property?
Surely our expertise lies in knowing how to buy land, put together development proposals, navigate the planning process and build identikit housing estates?
This is all true but it misses the one key point that our core goal (like yours) is to sell property for the highest possible price!
Just like you we also have to deal with flaky buyers, shoddy estate agents, slow solicitors and inept mortgage brokers.
The difference is, we do it on a daily basis and as such have become masters of managing the process.

Ashton House, Cornwall Avenue, London, N3 1LF

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