The trend means that once more the property market has turned into a sellers market, with Nationwide figures showing that there has been an increase of over 8 percent in property prices over the past year fuelled by increased demand from buyers. The figures over the level of asking prices being reached with UK properties was released by the property company Hometrack.

Since the latter part of last year many industry groups and officials have been speaking about green shoots in the property market, with a number of signs of recovery in the field. Increased demand, rising property prices, and increased mortgage availability have all improved the outlook for the property market over recent months, although many are concerned over how long this might last and whether it is sustainable.

A statement from Hometrack read: ‘The proportion of the asking price has bounced back over the course of 2009 from a low of 88% in February 2009. This measure has now reached 93%, and is starting to plateau in the face of firmer pricing and reduced sales volumes.’

Another official said that things could be tricky for buyers wondering what sort of offer to put in, stating: ‘My tip would be to go in 10% below what you consider a fair price – but be realistic and don’t make it offensive – and then work up in small steps while letting the seller know you are serious.’

Properties selling at 93 percent of asking price is a post from: Glitec Loans

Property prices have plunged since their peak in 2007, and with mortgage lending becoming increasing restricted the sale of properties almost ground to a halt at one point, with many homeowners finding that they were unable to sell their properties due to factors such as negative equity resulting from falling property prices or because potential buyers simply couldn’t get the mortgages that they needed.

Over the past few months, however, there has been much talk of a recovery in the property market. Property prices are said to have slowly increased over recent months, although they are still far lower than they were at their peak.

Some have also suggested that mortgage lending is becoming more freely available to some buyers, particularly those that are able to raise a substantial deposit. There have also been reports that an increasing number of people are showing interest in purchasing property after a very slow period seen earlier this year.

A number of industry groups have viewed recent figures relating to matters such as property prices, buyer interest, and mortgage lending activity as highly encouraging, and these reports have sparked speculation over whether the troubles that the housing market has experienced over the past couple of years have finally come to an end.

However, this is not a view that is shared by all industry groups, and some are convinced that this is simply a temporary blip, and that the downward spiral will recommence next year.

The National Association of Estate Agents has said that the housing market has managed to weather the traditional slowdown that is usually seen in the summer months, and this is further evidence that the market is on the way to recovery and that the only way now is up. The association said that in September property sales levels and the number of potentially interested buyers registering with estate agents had increased compared to the previous month.

However, the credit ratings agency Fitch insists that the encouraging data is only a temporary blip, and that this is simply a false dawn that is being blown out of proportion. The ratings agency is certain that rising unemployment and lack of mortgage finance will see property prices fall further, and has predicted that there will be a further fall of 17 percent in house prices in the UK.

An official from Fitch Ratings said: “Despite the fact that a global economic recovery is under way, the economic fundamentals do not auger well for a sustained strong recovery in the UK housing market.”

A number of other industry groups have mirrored this opinion, and have said that whilst data over the past few months might have been encouraging there was little evidence to show that this recovery could be sustained.

Mixed reactions to recovery of property market is a post from: Glitec Loans

Whilst some industry groups have said that property prices will continue increasing there are others that have said that there is no way that property prices will return to the levels that they were at before the bubble burst.

Over the past few months the property market has been given a helping hand by high demand and low supply, and according to reports in some areas properties are being sold through sealed bids within days of hitting the market as a result of supply being so low compared to demand.

However, despite this encouraging situation many experts are certain that the property market will not return to its boom days, and some groups expect house prices to continue falling next year.

One of the things that could affect the current situation is that an increasing number of homeowners may put their homes up for sale given the success of others, and this will increase supply.

One official said: “A lot of the improvement has been driven by supply being very tight, but there is evidence that people are beginning to react to the improvement in market conditions and are more inclined to have a go at selling their property.”

However, an economist from Global Insight said: “Despite further likely gains in the very near term, we suspect that house prices will be prone to significant relapses and will probably be no more than flat overall between now and the end of 2010. Much will clearly depend on whether the economy can sustain a probable return to growth in the third quarter, how much further unemployment rises, how quickly and to what extent credit conditions ease, and how many properties come on to the market over the coming months.”

Property prices will not return to levels seen previously is a post from: Glitec Loans

Although property prices have been increasing slightly they are much lower now than they were at their peak in October of 2007.

However, officials have said that some homeowners are not doing themselves any favours when trying to sell because they are refusing to lower their property prices.

According to the report over one third of homeowners that are trying to sell their homes in the current difficult climate are refusing to lower their property asking prices, even though property prices are said to have fallen by around 20 percent since their peak and are now back at levels that were last seen in 2004.

The research was carried out by the Cooperative Bank, and officials from the bank said that many homeowners refuse to acknowledge just how deeply their property values have been affected.

The study revealed that around 35 percent of homeowners would refuse an offer that was below their asking price and would instead hold out for at least their asking price despite the current climate in the property market.

Officials also fear that reports on house price rises or a slowdown in house price falls will lead to an increasing number of property sellers refusing to budge on their asking price.

The report said that this rising trend amongst property sellers was leading to an increasing gap between what homeowners expect and what potential buyers are prepared to offer, as only 12 percent of respondents to the survey said that they would consider paying the full asking price for a property.

Many homeowners refuse to drop property prices is a post from: Glitec Loans

However, some industry officials have warned that this could be a temporary situation, and that it is too early to assume that the property market is improving because the property price increases may be unsustainable.

One recent report has claimed that the current revival in property prices in the UK cannot be sustained, adding that in 2010 property prices will fall by a further 7 percent.

Since February property prices are said to have increased by over 8 percent, but some industry experts have said that the house price increases will start to fall away towards the end of this year, and will start to fall over the course of next year.

One industry official said: ‘The unforeseen and seemingly irrational pick-up in prices has altered the outlook for UK house prices but it is likely that this recovery will prove temporary. The economic fundamentals that have supported the upturn, most notably the constrained supply of housing for sale, will be eroded as unemployment hits a peak and mortgage lending remains weak.’

He added: ‘While the recent improvement in the market is encouraging, it is impossible to ignore the short-term risks posed to the UK residential sector by rising unemployment and poor credit availability. We anticipate the current market revival to be unsustainable and predict a further contraction in prices during 2010 by -7%.’

Another official said, however, ‘Whilst some commentators believe that prices have further to fall, the increase in prices over the last four months tentatively suggests that the market has bottomed out and that we are slowly climbing out of the trough.’

Current property price increases ‘unsustainable’ is a post from: Glitec Loans

For the decade leading up to 2007 many first time buyers found that they simply could not afford to get a property because of soaring property prices that put the prospect of getting a home way out of reach for many first time buyers. However, in the autumn of 2007 some first time buyers thought that their luck had changed.

October of 2007 saw the house price bubble burst, and having peaked house prices in the UK started to plummet, much to the delight of first time buyers. For many this marked the chance to try and get onto the property ladder after years of waiting, and many thought that a few more months of waiting could see property values fall to levels that they may possibly be able to afford. They were right, in that property prices did start to fall month on month, and with each cut in value came an increased likelihood of affordability for the average first time buyer.

However, what many first time buyers had not been expecting was the dire effects of the global credit crunch, which also gripped the UK that same year. Within months banks had tightened their lending criteria and amongst the groups that were set to suffer were first time buyers. The new stringent regulations by banks meant that getting a mortgage loan was far more difficult, and marked the end of the days of easy credit, which had been seen for the past ten years.

Many of the mortgages that had been popular with first time buyers, and had given them a helping hand onto the property ladder disappeared, such as the 125 percent and the 100 percent mortgages, which many had relied on because they had little or nothing in savings to put down as a deposit on a property. This immediately left many first time buyers out in the cold. Then came even worse news as the once traditional 95 percent mortgage started to disappear. All of a sudden lenders started to demand extortionate deposit levels such as 25 percent and even 40 percent of the property value in some cases.

It seems that first time buyers are in a no win situation. At the time when property prices were too high to afford they could easily get finance for 125 percent or 100 percent of the value of the property but could not afford to take out such a big mortgage due to the repayments. However, just as property prices plunge to affordable levels and the base interest rate falls to its lowest level in history, at just 0.5 percent, first time buyers have found that lenders are no longer prepared to offer them finance, and those that are demand a far higher deposit than the average first time buyer can afford.

How first time buyers are faring in the current climate is a post from: Glitec Loans

It was revealed in a recent report that even the most credit worthy consumers may find that it takes months to secure a suitable mortgage, and this has been blamed on banks holding onto their cash in order to bump up their financial reserves, which is effectively brining the housing market to a grinding halt.

Industry experts are now stating that banks are being too restrictive with their daily mortgage lending levels, adding that banks were putting daily lending limits into place and once these limits had been reached they were turning down other customers for loans even if they had five star credit ratings.

These customers were then forced to wait weeks on end for more cash to be made available before being considered again for mortgage finance.

Experts added that often demand was so high for these loans compared to the availability of cash that often those than went to a lender after 10am were being turned away because there was no cash available.

One expert stated: “It used to be just those with a poor credit history would find it difficult to obtain a mortgage. But now there’s no guarantee that five-star borrowers will get a deal because lenders are restricting the amount of funding available. It’s a fresh blow to Britain’s middle-classes which are already dealing with rising unemployment and repossessions.”

Another industry official added: “It is bad news for consumers that mortgage deals are only appearing in the window for such a short period. There are now only a limited number of cheaper deals available and before the consumer has chance to look at them a second time, they are gone.”

Banks ‘choking’ the housing market is a post from: Glitec Loans

Retirement is a time where we can finally enjoy our lives without the worry of work in order to bring money in, but without a reasonable pension pot in place many people will find it extremely difficult to cope financially once they have retired.

However, despite these warnings from various industry groups and professionals it appears that millions of Brits have their own ideas about how they will cope once retirement age comes around.

A recent study has shown that millions of people in the UK are now relying on their property in order to fund their retirement, and industry experts have stated that this could be a real gamble that doesn’t pay off, leaving the homeowner in a very tricky situation.

Despite the fact that the property market has gone through extreme turbulence over the past couple of years, and that property values have dropped a huge amount since the housing market peaked in 2007, millions of homeowners across the UK still insist on relying solely on their properties for their retirement years.

This means that they have no other pension plan in place, and if it all goes wrong they could be left with pretty much nothing. Worryingly the study showed that around 36 percent of working adults had no works or private pension plan in place.

One industry official that was involved in the research, Ian Bird, stated: ‘With lower house prices, people who rely on the equity in their property may find themselves having to massively downgrade in order to have sufficient funds to support their retirement.’ Another industry expert added: ‘Relying on property to fund a pension, can and has worked in the past but it is a very high risk strategy. At the very least you should save in some sort of pension plan too.’

One fund manager stated: ‘The problem is that using a property as a means to fund retirement leaves you relying on the health of the property market, which can be very cyclical. Also if something goes wrong with the property, both home and retirement income are affected. Faced with a depressed property value an individual either has to carry on working, or accept a much reduced income in retirement.’

Mr Bird also went on to say: ‘The lack of awareness and insight amongst consumers when it comes to pensions is a cause for extreme concern. Believing that you will work to a certain age is all very well, but it isn’t always realistic. Many people find themselves unable to work in later years, usually for health-related reasons. Thinking that you can ’save later’ is not always an option.’

In addition to the data on using properties for pensions the research also revealed that close to 30 percent of people aged between twenty five and forty four had nothing in place for their retirement, and 11 percent of these had never even considered how they would cope once they had retired.

Are you relying on your property for your retirement? is a post from: Glitec Loans

RICS recently released a report predicting the increase in property prices, although its predictions fly in the face of predictions made by some other groups.

RICS has predicted that in the next three months the decreases seen in the property market will start to tail off, and house prices will start to increase. The reports from RICS also indicated that just over 18 percent of surveyors reported house price falls for the month of June, and this compared to over 75 percent for the month of January, indicating that there are been a dramatic turnaround in the market.

The news was, however, mixed, and one official from the group stated: ‘Although the market is showing signs of improvement, it is unlikely that there will be a sustained upturn while mortgage lenders remain risk adverse. A lack of stock on the market is providing a platform for modest price increases. While supply remains tight, the market may continue to show tentative signs of firming but instructions are starting to increase in some regions and this could dampen any meaningful recovery as long as economic conditions remain quite so uncertain.’

One economist stated: ‘We suspect that house prices will be volatile around a modestly weakening trend over the coming months, and it is very possible that they could yet fall by a further 10% from current levels. Much will clearly depend on whether or not the economy can sustain its recent overall improvement, how much further unemployment rises, how quickly and to what extent credit conditions ease, and how many properties come on to the market over the coming months.’

RICS predicts increase in property prices is a post from: Glitec Loans

Officials from HMRC said that May saw a rise of 7 percent in the level of property sales over the value of £40,000, with around 62,000 homes over this value being sold over the course of the month. This was the highest figure since October of last year, but is still considerably lower than during the same period last year.

The data backs up the various reports that have suggested the level of interest from buyers in the housing market was increasing following a long and deep slump in the property market.

However, whilst some officials believe that the increase in property sales could mean an end to the slump in the property market others are convinced that it is just the usual ’spring bounce’ and that the figures will drop again as the weeks go on.

One industry official stated: “At this time of year it is usual to see an increase in property sales, as spring is the time when many potential buyers decide to start looking around, applying for mortgages, and buying a new home. However, the numbers have probably been boosted as a result of the lower base rate, which will have encouraged some people to take the plunge sooner rather than later, and by the lower house prices compared to a couple of years ago.”

One of the factors that has hindered the level of new property sales is the fact that mortgage lending is still tight, not only in terms of lenders handing out mortgage loans but also in terms of the amount of deposit that many lenders have been demanding, which for many buyers – particularly first time buyers – simply is not achievable.

Continued rise in property sales is a post from: Glitec Loans