London Olympics forecast to stagnate house prices
Monday, 02 July 2012 09:08
The London Olympics will further stall house prices amidst the summer slowdown according to Hometrack.
The Hometrack house price index has shown no movement in house prices for June blaming the seasonal slowdown and the Eurozone’s uncertain status for the stall.
The stagnant figures for June follow small house price rises in April and May, but experts warn there will be no upward price movement for some time.
“As we move into the summer months the traditional seasonal slowdown will ensure that demand remains subdued - the Olympics are only likely to contribute further to this,” Richard Donnell director of research at Hometrack said.
“As a consequence we expect the balance between supply and demand to widen with house prices set to come under renewed downward pressure over the second half of the year.”
Supply already out numbers demand with new buyer registrations for June dropping by 0.5 per cent.
This is the first monthly decline for five months and comes at the same time as supply records 1.5 per cent growth.
According to the index the over-riding story from respondents can be described as a fragile and lacklustre view of the housing market.
Buyers remain concerned by the UK economy and the impact of the Eurozone is creating much uncertainty in the market.
