Monday 16th June 2008
The complete recovery of the housing market from the downturn it is currently experiencing could take a number of years, it has been suggested.
A new poll of experts conducted by ITV1s Tonight programme found the majority believe it will take at least four years for the market to fully improve.
More than 60 per cent of 225 members of the Society of Business Economists (SBE) questioned by the programme said they believed a recovery would be a long process.
As well as this, some 56 per cent of respondents believed house prices could fall by some 20 per cent, the Press Association reports.
Bronwyn Curtis, chair of the SBE, told the programme: "It doesnt look like were going to see a fall, which is what were in the middle of, and a quick bounce back. It does look as though its going to go on and well have slow growth for some time," the news agency reports.
She said that house prices have for some time been overvalued, but now they are set to be undervalued.
Recent figures from lenders including Nationwide and Halifax have indicated house prices continued to fall last month and the number of sales going through has also dropped.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has, however, indicated that fixed-rate loans are becoming more popular for consumers, with the number of consumers opting for such a borrowing solution increasing to 59 per cent in April, from 54 per cent in March.
But despite the strength in this area, director general of the CML Michael Coogan has noted that lending volumes are likely to fall in the coming months as approvals continue to drop.
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