Another dagger (hopefully) into the high priced property market is that average interest rates are on the increase (And will continue to increase) despite the BoE reducing the base rate down to 0.5% over recent months. In January 2007 with the base rate at 5% the mortgage rate was 6.20% and now despite the base rathe shrinking to 0.5% the mortgage rate has rised to 6.23% !!! The main reason for these high rates is because the people in the know (apparently) are well aware of the current house price market and feel prices have some way to fall yet.

People say it’s all negative talk, but it’s reality. House prices are too high, first time buyers are out of the market, the plug is conituining to be pulled from the housing market.

It is quite clear what is happening in the housing market. Prices nearly trebled from 1997-2007; there is a correction taking place and the bottom will not be reached for some time yet.

If news reports filter to the media that there are ‘grass shots’ then these will inevitably come from those with vested interest in property and property gaining in value. As a buyer I would recommend that you wait at least another 6 months before you buy and even then you will still see a drop in house prices for another year or so. We have yet to see the market bottom out and remain flat, then will be the best time to buy.

I am seeing increasing cases of Swine Flu globally including a rising number of cases in th UK. Will this lead to further down falls in the economy should the out break worsen? If everyday fears aren’t enough, the public are cautious to walk their very own streets breathing the free outside air without the concern of catching a life threatening disease.

In the UK the is no doubt a weakening confidence in the property market and despite those trying to claw on to varied notions that there are grass shots appearing, then general slide is down for average property prices. Will the added effect of a worsening virus entitled ‘Swine Flu’ add to the nations misery and lack of confidence?

Watch this space should the outbreak of Swine Flu worsen globally, there will be effect on worldwide markets and property prices….

Prices were allowed to spiral upwards at too faster rate on the back of nothing, but a ‘feel good factor’ under the Labour government. People were spending credit as opposed to their earnings. Each year increasing their mortgages to accommodate their new upgrades on cars, multiple annual family holidays and plasma televisions in every room. These kind of people added to the national debt and now find themselves in negative equity (rightly so?) and are now starting to loose their treasured possessions (which they never really owned or worked for?) and the worst case scenario is many situations, repossession of their property.

Yes, many people will feel sorry for the ones losing their homes, but just how many of these people are actually in this situation for genuine reasons? How many of them simply spent, spent, spent with absolutely no regard for future finacial situations?

People tag them as vultures, but these people that are now buying up cheap property from auctions and taking advantage of giveaway prices of cars etc because other people are trying to stay afloat should be looked up to and thanked for having been safer with their spending. Families that studied their monthly bills, never were tempted to take advantage of their limitless credit spending, that may even have rented foreseeing this property price crash, are the ones that will profit.

I think that over the next 2-3 years house prices will adjust to or maybe even below the inflation band. At present it will be those with cash that are king and those that borrowed too much that will be poor. This unfortunately is a cycle that has occured many times before and it’s a cycle that will continue in years to come.

These figures are released at more or less the same time as the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) stated that house sales were at their lowest levels between December and February this year, that’s a new 31 year low.

“Around two-thirds of the homes will be built by housing associations, as private builders suspend developments until the market picks up”, NHF states.

This further cements the worsening Property Market in the UK and a very bleak outlook for 2009 and beyond. With self builders, house building companies and first time buyers all out of the picture it points towards increased property price falls. First time buyers are finding it near an impossibility purchasing as Bank’s lendings have become more difficult to obtain.

The average property price figures due soon also will no doubt show a downturn as the recession starts to take grip.

The government is trying to combat these fast increasing figures, but really are fighting a loosing battle as inflation still remains very high and the massive increase in job loses all round the country. Add to this that many home owners who pruchased over the last few years already see themselves in negative equity, times for home owners looks very bleak for the short to mid term future.

My personnel opinion? A lot of these repossessions are those that stretched themselves too far with their house purchase, that never planned ahead and thought about potential bad times that could lay ahead. Ones that never read the small print on their mortgages they took out, just lived for today and didn’t think about when the higher interest payment rates were to come about. Never saved, but just used their plastic friends to buy the new car, new kitchen, new flat screen TV’s, SKY TV fees, the holidays to sunny shores???

I just feel sorry for the very few that are genuinely hitting hard times, that did lose there jobs dispute many years loyal service and the inflation increase has taken them well above their comfort zone. That they now find themselves in negative equity and quite literally find themselves in a ‘no move’ situation or they admit defeat and give the keys to their homes back to the bank… but where some lose, some are to gain and at last young families can afford a house to live in as we see house prices falling, and as one house sells for cheap in an auction and somebody has lost everything, someone will gain a new start in life and a cheap property to live in.

What we are seeing today is unpresidented falls in house prices as we suddenly all realise that prices we were paying for far too over inflated and suddenly we are starring into the barrels of a despression/recession. So you house, that was once a prized asset, now becomes a doom of debt that you just can’t get rid of, and every day that goes by the value falls and your debt increases. So, how do you beat the present climate and how do you get your property to stand out from others and get a positive result in it’s marketing?

Advertise your property online with a video tour, OneStopView.com allows you to upload a video of your property and market it for free to a worldwide audience. You need to get your property set at a selling price for todays climate, do not try and get back money that you lost simply by increasing your property’s value – it will not work.

Marketing your property online with a video tour will mean that you home is available online as a 24/7 open house, meaning that people can view your property as if they were actually there at anytime of the day from any place on the planet. This will gaurentee you serious enquiries and most certainly make your property more findable and more appealing that others using simply photos and descriptions alone.

Germany also predicts an increase in uneployment figures by 1.1% next year, a final nail in the coffin? At present we are seeing the UK economy shrink at a pace, can the Eurozone start sliding too?