Estate agents urge prospective purchasers to action

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) is urging prospective house purchasers into action, as a record number of homes languish on estate agents’ books.

Last month, property website Rightmove calculated that there were over one million homes for sale in England and Wales and the NAEA is pointing out that buyers can no longer hold out for high offers and deny a downturn in the market.

The number of properties offered for sale by the average estate agency branch has risen to 75, while latest figures from Rightmove show that asking prices fell by 1.2% between 11th May and 14th June.

According to NAEA president, Chris Brown, vendors are taking buyers more seriously as their rarity value increases and Mr Brown sees buyers as now having strong influence on the UK housing market.

However, the mortgage crisis continues its influence on prospective purchasers, particularly those will small deposits, who are faced with the high costs of funding a loan.

Only today, financial website Moneyfacts.co.uk reported that the cost two and three-year fixed-rate mortgages have continued to rise despite the fact that money market swap rates peaked three weeks ago and have since declined.

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