Property prices rise by almost 1% in March
The average property price for March 2009 was up by 0.9% on the previous month. The build up to the busy market time of summer will tell us if the recovery is real or just small blip before price plunge again, there are traditionally more sales in summer than any other time.
Mortgage approvals for last month numbered 37,000 but we would need to see at least 60,000 during the summer months to compensate for the downturn in the economy including rising unemployment and stalling of wage rises.
So have the recent mortage rate cuts been instrumental in this? No. Simple as that. People are saving big time on their mortgages yes but as soons as they move home they will need to re-negociate their mortgage meaning they will be paying more! These cuts in rate are good for the general economy but bad for savers and also bad for people moving houses as the amount for money in the finance system has dropped meaning the deals just are not there. I know from experience that my present mortgage has fallen from 350 p/month to under £100, with the only deals now available being in the region of £199. So the moves the BOE have made have not really helped me at all… As mentioned these mortgage rate cuts have taken money out of the system meaning the deals are not there and fewer people than ever can get a mortgage.