Housing Index declares market in crisis

The latest asking price index from home.co.uk has declared that the housing market is in crisis and we are currently experiencing a calm before the storm.

In particular the research pointed to supply of property for sale being placed on the market tumbling to the lowest level ever recorded by this index.

This has meant that the overall total amount of property for sale has plunged to another all-time low and now stands 38% lower than in January 2008.

Doug Shephard, Director at Home.co.uk said: "Absolute demand has clearly not returned to pre-crisis levels across the UK. However, when we look at current demand relative to the current level of supply, the impact on affordability is probably worse.

“Government policy to date has served to stimulate demand and has done relatively little to improve supply.

“Add to this scenario the increasingly polarised nature of the UK housing market and we have a very volatile situation.”

The average asking price for England and Wales has shown no sign of change from last month but is up 6.2% from a year ago and is at a new post-crisis high.

Want to have your say? Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read more stories

Join nearly 5,000 other practitioners – sign up to our free newsletter

You’ll receive the latest updates, analysis, and best practice straight to your inbox.

Features