Industry reacts to latest Nationwide figures

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:

“We’ve seen inflation ease in recent weeks, however, interest rates and the resulting cost of borrowing remain high and this is continuing to dampen buyer appetites, which in turn is impacting house prices.

While we don’t anticipate any notable correction on the horizon, we expect these lethargic market conditions to remain in the short-term, until such time the cost of climbing the ladder starts to reduce.”

Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented:

“A gloomy market outlook on the face of it, but rather than entering a deep freeze, it’s fair to say the market is thawing. Yes, affordability remains an issue, however, just this week we’ve seen a big spike in mortgage market activity, which suggests that an uplift in house prices is just around the corner.

As interest rates begin to reduce, this growing market momentum will start to snowball and this will reverse the downward house price trends of recent months.”

Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, commented:

“The weakest level of annual house price growth since July 2009 is sure to cause alarm for the nation’s home sellers and many will be keen to sell their home quickly before the rot sets in any further.

The good news is that we’re not in the midst of a market crash, albeit we are seeing a downward correction. However, the real challenge at present is the heightened level of market instability, the ability to actually find a buyer in a proceedable position and, once you have, making it through to completion without the transaction falling through.”

CEO of Octane Capital, Jonathan Samuels, commented:

“The current market outlook isn’t quite as turbulent as today’s house price figures may suggest and, in fact, we’ve seen a boost to market sentiment in the form of mortgage approval activity outperforming wider expectations.

While this increase in buyer appetites will take some time to filter through to top line house price growth, it’s certainly an early sign that the worst is behind us.”