Nationwide confident on UK housing market
A new report from The Nationwide claims the UK property sector will remain stable for the next six to 12 months.
The UK's largest building society said property prices will remain steady in the short to medium term as more properties come onto the market - after the government acted to scrap Home Information Packs (HIPs).
However, it's not all good news for homeowners as it predicts there could be falls in prices towards the end of 2011 as a result of government spending cuts and expected rate increases.
If interest rates are to remain at around 0.5% for the foreseeable future this should increase liquidity in the mortgage market and hopefully create a more fluid pool of funds for interested property buyers.
The news comes as a report for mortgage house lender's House Price Index is currently recording a mini-boom with prices up 10.5% in the year to April, but this has been skewered by the low level of property transactions and Nationwide says rapid house inflation should ease.
A spokesperson for the nationwide said it will be interesting to look back on 2010 to see whether it was 'obvious' as to the future direction of the UK property market.