The property slump

Property experts are now warning that the UK is now on the brink of the worst housing slump since the 1970s and the country is entering a potentially long-term recession. According to one major lender, The Nationwide, house prices have fallen for nine months in succession.


In the 1970s and 1990s house prices also fell sharply and these two periods were regarded as the major corrections in rising markets since world war two. The current period we are in is being predicted to eclipse these, with food and oil prices soaring in conjunction with inflation. The Bank of England has indicated that the number of new home loans issued has fallen to an all time low since 1993, when they started to record this data. One of the main engines that drive house prices, first time buyers, are struggling to get loans without large deposits, even though in many areas house prices have already dropped.
With credit lending having being reined in and house prices dropping, a catalogue of other fundamentals are likely to have an impact on our lives for the unforeseeable future. Unemployment is one of these fundamentals. Imagine the scenario of an average family having borrowed to the hilt to afford a modest house, stricken by unemployment and not being able to meet the repayments on their mortgage. Most lenders will begin legal repossession procedures after just three months missed payments.


With builder's businesses drying up due to a lack of house sales, staff are being made redundant and some companies have gone bankrupt and stopped trading. Other companies' share prices have dropped due to a lack of confidence with investors, causing pension funds and investments to plummet. Consumers have stopped spending as much, causing even more businesses to go out of business. It's not hard to see how one aspect of our economy has had a knock on effect on other areas like a domino effect.


The list of fundamentals stacked against our economy at the time of writing is massive and beyond the scope of this article. So what can we do to survive this economic storm? As with a normal storm the general advice is to batten down the hatches and sit it out and I think this advice is generally sound for homeowners thinking of selling. If you have to sell in this climate due to circumstances beyond your control then expect to receive offers well below what you thought your home was worth say six months ago.


One way to get a better price for your home is to sell it privately through an online property portal. An average estate agency will charge 4% on a house sale so for a house sold for £180000 their fees will be £7200 plus VAT. That's a total of £8460! A property portal generally charge a one off fee to add details and images of your property to the website and you manage the rest. Once you find a buyer, inform your solicitor and proceed as normal.

www.sellmypropertyonline.co.uk is an online portal, or online estate agent, who charge a one off subscription fee to join the website and upload images and details of your property You can market your own property here and sell it privately, without paying any commission.