More homeowners coming onto market
A new report by the Halifax building society says more homeowners are putting their properties on the market in response to more favourable conditions.
And while this is great news for estate agents and househunters, because the amount of choice increases, industry experts are not quite so cheery because they say it will put downward pressure on prices over the coming months.
The Halifax's latest monthly report shows that although average UK house prices rose for the sixth month in a row, this month's growth was the weakest. This has led the Halifax to declare that it thinks the market will be flat this year.
However this isn't a view echoed by the rest of the industry and BNP Paribas has actually raised its forecast for this year and said that it expects a 3.55 per cent price growth. The decision comes after the Centre for Economics and Business Research also raised its forecast to six per cent for the year.
BNP Paribas' Mike Rees said that the housing market, like the rest of the UK, is indeed recovering and not collapsing back as many have feared and some have forecast. In 2010, he added, regardless of either a Conservative or Labour government, he fully expects the economy will continue its recovery and, hence, the housing market will also continue to do so.