Housing market picks up as downturn rate slows

As potential buyers continue to return to the housing market, house prices began to fall at their slowest rate for a year in April.

With only 32 of postcode districts reporting falls, the average cost of a home only dropped by 0.3. This was compared to 59 of postcode districts reporting a loss in February.

Sales increased by 15 and estate agents across the country registered an increase in potential buyers, however with a lack of first time buyers the housing market currently looks to have no broad-based recovery.

The buyers and sellers are currently cash investors and larger family homes who have large equity stakes in their existing properties, rather than the first time buyers who have such an impact on the market. Without access to mortgage finance and the fact that they remain constrained from the market sales are still less than half of what they should be.

The director of research for Hometrack commented that we should not lose sight of the broader picture. The demand in housing was largely seasonal and unlikely to be persistent over the rest of the year.

News brought to you by lowerpremium.co.uk, providing house insurance to the UK market.

April 27^th 2009

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