Home sales to fall in 2008

The volume of home sales is due to drop in 2008, according to the latest market forecast for next year

[UKPRwire, Tue Dec 04 2007] The County Homesearch Company (CHC) says that it expects to see sales fall as the associated costs of moving home continue to grow.

It is bad news if you are looking for someone to buy your property and, with Nationwide recently predicting that house price growth will slump to zero per cent next year, may lead to a surge in quick property sales.

Jonathan Haward, managing director of the CHC, said that Home information packs (Hips) will also affect the market negatively.

"The volume of sales is likely to fall considerably in 2008, down by somewhere in the region of 15 per cent, resulting from a flattening market and the expense of stamp duty and high moving costs which will hit movers hard," he said.

"While unfortunately Hips may still become an unavoidable part of the house buying and selling process, they will have a deterring influence on the spontaneous marketplace.

"To date they have proved a complete waste of everybody's time and money," he added.

Cash for property expert Julian King adds, "Along with the introduction of Hips, lenders' revised lending criteria, uncertainty in the market, increaseing numbers facing financial difficulty or possession orders, a false belief in property values and the mixed messages in the media over property prices, 2008 will be more difficult of homesellers than some analysts cautiously predict.

"Two things are a certainty in next year's property market: your house will sell for less than you expect and it will take you longer to sell than you expect.

"The ability to sell property quickly is greatly reduced as fewer and fewer potential buyers are willing or able to enter into a transaction. Those who need a quick house sale because they are facing reposssession, moving abroad or need to complete on another property in the chain will be seriously disadvantaged".

Mr King is a director of National Homebuyers, the UK's leading fast property purchase firm. The company guarantees a quick 'cash for house' offer for vendors who need a quick sale. The company is also one of the UK's leading providers of Sell and Rent Back solutions.

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