Housing market is stabilising, says NAEA

Posted 13/07/2009

The UK housing market is in a much better state than it was 12 months ago, an industry group has stated.

According to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), property sale rates at the average agent are “strong”, despite a slight drop-off in the number of people looking for a new home in May.

Gary Smith, president of the NAEA, said this shows that the housing market is in a far better position than it was during 2008.

“After several months of continuous improvement, the market stabilised in June,” he observed.

However, Mr Smith added that the government needs to do more to ensure the money given to the banks filters through to the property sector.

He said it is in the UK’s interest to ensure that the recent upturn in the market is sustained and nurtured into a full recovery.

This echoes recent comments from housebuilder Redrow, which said increased mortgage lending would play a significant role in driving a recovery in the economy as a whole.