UK House Prices Continue to Decline
The credit crunch has well and truly set in, recession has dawned on the UK for the first time since the early 1990s, reports officially confirm.
Often seen as a metric for the British economy, house prices have too fallen in what is the worst time for the housing market since the house price crash of the 90s.
House prices are reputed to have fallen in 45% of England and Wales postcode districts.
Some now face a situation of negative equity (a situation where the value of the property is less than the outstanding balance of the mortgage).
Despite record demand for housing, reluctance by the banks to hand out the necessary mortgages has seen fewer people able to purchase a house, especially first time buyers who struggle to raise the increasingly high initial deposit.
Freely available and cheap credit dished out by the banks as little as one year ago has had a negative impact on the current situation - irresponsible lending to those who were lacking the means to repay has forced banks to tighten their lending policies.
Is the situation looking to improve any time soon? The unfortunate answer is no, as banks have returned to somewhat 'normal' lending policies (lending to those who can prove they are able to handle the payments along with higher deposits) it will be sometime before the market stabilises to reflect these changes.
House prices are not looking likely to start rising again until the economy as a whole improves, which analysts believe is not on the horizon as yet.
At the time of the 'boom' and cheap credit, many saw property as a way to earn a quick buck or as long term investment (often from the rental market).
Many non-affluent home owners took another property and a second mortgage to be a part of this trend; many more buy-to-let landlords were looking for exciting new investment opportunities.
This group has been hit particularly hard, with many secondary properties being sold back to the market at below market value or even being repossessed by the banks in the worst cases.
Many feel the cause for the housing crash lays squarely at the large city banks which set a trend for lending credit and mortgages irresponsibly.
Some feel tighter regulations should have been in place to prevent the current situation and have asked serious questions of the government and regulatory authorities.
Whatever the future outlook may be, for those struggling with their mortgage or other debts it is imperative that they get proper financial help; they must not expect the situation to ease at any point soon.
Often seen as a metric for the British economy, house prices have too fallen in what is the worst time for the housing market since the house price crash of the 90s.
House prices are reputed to have fallen in 45% of England and Wales postcode districts.
Some now face a situation of negative equity (a situation where the value of the property is less than the outstanding balance of the mortgage).
Despite record demand for housing, reluctance by the banks to hand out the necessary mortgages has seen fewer people able to purchase a house, especially first time buyers who struggle to raise the increasingly high initial deposit.
Freely available and cheap credit dished out by the banks as little as one year ago has had a negative impact on the current situation - irresponsible lending to those who were lacking the means to repay has forced banks to tighten their lending policies.
Is the situation looking to improve any time soon? The unfortunate answer is no, as banks have returned to somewhat 'normal' lending policies (lending to those who can prove they are able to handle the payments along with higher deposits) it will be sometime before the market stabilises to reflect these changes.
House prices are not looking likely to start rising again until the economy as a whole improves, which analysts believe is not on the horizon as yet.
At the time of the 'boom' and cheap credit, many saw property as a way to earn a quick buck or as long term investment (often from the rental market).
Many non-affluent home owners took another property and a second mortgage to be a part of this trend; many more buy-to-let landlords were looking for exciting new investment opportunities.
This group has been hit particularly hard, with many secondary properties being sold back to the market at below market value or even being repossessed by the banks in the worst cases.
Many feel the cause for the housing crash lays squarely at the large city banks which set a trend for lending credit and mortgages irresponsibly.
Some feel tighter regulations should have been in place to prevent the current situation and have asked serious questions of the government and regulatory authorities.
Whatever the future outlook may be, for those struggling with their mortgage or other debts it is imperative that they get proper financial help; they must not expect the situation to ease at any point soon.
