|
Year end sees buoyant housing market
Traditionally mortgage approvals drop during the
month of December, as the run up towards Christmas and the New
Year means people are for one, busy dealing with the festive season,
and also counting the cost of this period and when money is tight
people are not normally looking to move home.
While the December just passed did see the usual drop in the
number of mortgages taken, it was far less of a reduction than
expected and in fact this was the busiest December in the mortgage
market on record. The number of approved mortgages fell six percent
compared to the month prior, this modest fall helped the full
year figures to come in at just one percent lower than for the
2004 period, which is impressive when you consider the slow start
in the housing market at the beginning of the year.
After the strong gains in house prices seen during recent years,
buyers became wary that a recession in the market was on its way,
which led to many keeping from dipping their toe in the housing
sector. However, as the year progressed, while there was a slowdown
and pockets of the country where prices fell slightly, the market
remained stable, and with this evidence in front of them many
people decided that making a purchase wasn’t a bad move
after all, and as such the year ended strongly.
It is expected that this strong finish to the year for the housing
market will continue into this new year, and with interest rates
set to remain low it could also see an increase in the number
of first time buyers entering the market.
|
