FTB's To Benifit from surge in the Property Market
29 October 2007
The National Association of Estate Agents (NEAE) is advising that first-time buyers stand to benefit from a surge in one and two bedroom dwellings on the housing market.
According to the association's latest monthly survey, a shortage of buyers for such properties has led to an excess of smaller homes lingering on the market.
Overall the average number of agreed sales per agent fell from 12 in August to 11 last month, while the average selling time for a property rose from 18.2 to 19.1 weeks across the same time period.
"The good news for first-time buyers is that with the current oversupply of one and two bedroom properties there is more choice at the lower end of the market, which can potentially be taken advantage of over the coming months," the NAEA report noted.
Attributing the downturn to wider uncertainty in UK property, NAEA president Stewart Lilly was careful to dismiss suggestions that the market is heading for a crash.
His reassurances come on the heels of a warning from the International Monetary Fund last week that UK property is overvalued by about 40 per cent and faces a major "price correction" in the coming months.
