The Building Societies Association has demanded that all those buildings societies that converted to Bank plc’s and are now in government hands, having failed during the credit crunch, should be remutualised as building societies rather than being sold off to the large Banking Groups.

They claim the public would benefit from the increased competition such a move would bring to both the mortgage and the savings market. They also argue, that Mutuals tend to adopt a lower level of risk, because their objective is safety and fair pricing for members, not extracting the maximum profit for shareholders.

It is certainly true that there is a worrying trend of large banking groups buying up their smaller competitors and removing competition from the market, such as the Spanish Bank Santander taking over the Abbey, Alliance and Leicester and the Bradford and Bingley.

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has claimed that the number of house hunters has risen in September, suggesting that buyer interest is returning to the mortgage market. This follows on from the decline registered in the early part of 2009 and on into August and the summer holidays.

There has also been a modest rise in the number of sales being agreed while at the same time there appears to be a reduction in the total number of properties being offered for sale.

First time buyer sales have declined from 36% in August to just over a quarter of total sales in September, this sharp decline may be due to the increasing difficulty first time buyers are experiencing in arranging a mortgage.

However, despite this decline, one must bear in mind that in September 2008 first time buyers only accounted for 10% of total new sales.

The National Association of Estate Agents have called on the government to extend the stamp duty holiday beyond January 2010, when it is due to end, highlighting the Governments decision to extend the car scrappage scheme.

I am often asked “what is going to happen to property prices”? Well, say ‘I’, they might go up or they might go down, “oh great help champ” might be the answer.

The expectation of where House prices are heading is being torn in several directions by many different forces. Let me explain;

Gold has just hit $1,040 an ounce this week, an all time high. Why? Well the wise acres are expecting inflation to runaway out of control and Gold is seen as a safe haven in times of crisis and runaway inflation.

So what does this tell us about the property market, well if inflation takes off we might just see our homes rise in value. This would suggest that now is a good time to buy the home of your dreams before the looming threat of inflation pushes property prices back up.

Unfortunately inflation will bring with it another unwelcome effect - higher interest rates. Higher interest rates will result in more expensive mortgage payments and this may put a brake onto the housing market. Why? you might ask. Well, many householders are hanging on by the skin of their teeth and a rise in their mortgage payments may be the last straw, forcing them to sell up before their home is repossessed by the lender. The same applies to the buy to let market where rents, in many cases, are already failing to cover the property owners mortgage costs, again we may see this property flood on to the market as investors cut their losses and run. If such a flood of property onto the market occurred we may see property values fall still further.

There are many other factors affecting property values, unemployment, lack of mortgage funds, rising taxes, the list is endless.

So what do I think? Well, if you own your home and are struggling to pay your mortgage, or are already in arrears, sell up and move into the rental market before your credit rating is ruined due to your home being repossessed, knuckle down save like mad and live a little. If you don’t already own your own home but want to, well get on with it, there are bargains to be had, but buy with the long term in view and because the house ticks all the right boxes for you.

Where is the market going, simple, stagnation. We have seen it all before. Following the property boom of the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s we suffered several years of stagnation, you could travel around and see derelict building sites where the builders had gone bust. Then there was the building boom and bust of the late 1980’s followed by stagnation until the most recent boom and bust that we are all now having to live with.

Prices are going to stagnate, the quick and easy profits of recent years have gone and a house is again somewhere to live not an extension of your bank overdraft and credit card, no longer that easy source of funds to waste in the shops, car showrooms and the travel agents, sanity may just have arrived back in the housing market.

Commission requested by two Bury St Emunds based estate agents 2% = £5,000

According to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) demand for property is exceeding supply across the housing market, with estate agents registering five house hunters to every available property.

Suprisingly this increase in demand has not translated into an increase in sales, as recorded sales actualy dropped during October. Interestingly first time buyers accounted for 22% of the sales completed, double the number for this time last year.

The NAEA claim that this demand is pushing house prices up, although this has not been the case in Bury St. Edmunds where estate agents seem to be driving down their property valuations.

That said there is a continueing strong demand for property in the West Suffolk area with property being sold in some cases with in days of coming to market. This is good news for estate agents who are able to pick up thousands of pounds in commission with little effort on their part.

It is also good news for those property sellers who choose to sell their property through aprilhomes where they have a fixed price fee and no commission to lose.

November 09, 2009 - Demand outstripping supply: The Times

House prices are up and the number of sales is rising, but homebuyers who are desperate to move are emptying the market. A rise in orders for sold boards from estate agents, against a much smaller increase in requests of for-sale signs, is the latest proof of the squeeze on stock. Based on the number of sold signs ordered by estate agents, there was a 13.4 per cent rise in sales between September and October, against a 5.6 per cent rise in for-sale signs, according to Agency Express, which supplies 90 per cent of the biggest agents. In the South East, orders of sold boards indicated the greatest regional monthly rise in sales, at 39.4 per cent in October.