Henry Pryor is a property expert who watches the housing market closely, and doesn't hold back with his views and insights... see what's on his mind:
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11/06/2009: The devil's in the detail
11/06/2009:
'Interest in property up again' is the headline announcing the latest monthly survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors....
21/05/2009: Prices down half from Summer '07
We're all used to sensational headlines, it's what grabs the readers' attention and
encourages you to read on...
7/05/2009: Licensing the letting agents
The launch of 'licensing' for lettings agents by ARLA, the Association of Residential Letting Agents is all well and good...
30/04/2009: The Budget and property - too little, too late
The Budget clearly failed to provide the housing market with the cardiac massage it so
desperately needs...
03/04/2009: Are the property waters safe again?
Like the mayor of Amity in the 1976 Oscar winning film Jaws, estate agent pin up Peter Rollings, managing director of london agent Marsh & Parsons, is desperate to persuade us that the property
skies are blue again...
13/03/2009: Could housing market 'quantitative easing' help?
A London estate agent has put up a petition on the Downing Street Web site calling for the Government to suspend Stamp Duty in an effort to
kick start the housing market...
16/02/2009: Time to abolish stamp duty?
I was reading in the Guardian in early January about the amount of Stamp Duty revenue that the Government will lose in
the downturn...
05/02/2009: How much does the asking price matter?
One of the biggest problems when selling in a falling market is trying to decide where to pitch your guide price. Too high and you can easily be mistaken for someone who has been
on Mars for the past year...
23/01/2009: New year, no houses
By now you'd have to be living on Mars to be unaware that the number of houses selling has fallen to
record lows...
7/01/2009: The January property sale
It was easy to make a mistake last year and many people did when it came to quoting a sensible and realistic guide price...
3/01/2009: The number of homes sold in November falls and the outlook for 2009 is pretty bleak
The latest statistics have been produced for sales that completed in November. Not surprisingly, the number of properties sold in the month has fallen to a new low...
16/12/2009: Bankers are turkeys voting for Christmas
The head of Barclays bank is reported today as saying that he thinks we are only half way through the slump with house prices likely to fall a total of 30%
10/12/2008: Prices 'down 45%' for some!
There are a number of house buyers who are already much, much happier about the housing market and who are pulling on their
buying boots...
21/11/2008: Sales in September were down 50%
Once again I have the latest data from the Land Registry, this time it's the
sales in September...
7/11/2008: Sales plummet 50% in September
Once again I have the latest data from the Land Registry, this time it's the sales in September. This is the most up to date snap-shot of the the housing market...
30/10/2008: Lenders give up trying to predict future
Average asking prices in the last month have actually risen according to the web site Rightmove.co.uk but can this be right?
21/10/2008: Price changes are all in the mind
If I'm honest I've never really understood where the extra money actually comes from when shares and the stock market rises, and the same goes for houses...
8/10/2008: Rate cut lifeline for housing market?
Intervention from the Treasury in the form of a bail-out for banks coupled with the half point rate cut...
30/09/2008: Lenders give up predicting the future
"The reality is that, given all the market uncertainty, it is very difficult to make accurate forecasts." So says the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) who represent the bigger banks and building societies - for the time being...
23/09/2008: Now lenders want to stuff the market
It's one thing having the Chancellor of the Exchequer putting the boot into the housing market but quite another for people in the business to frighten buyers away...
15/9/2008: Who will buy expensive houses with fewer wealthy bankers around?
The top of the housing market will be the first to feel the impact of the turmoil in the City
2/09/2008: 79% fewer homes sold in July...
Initial sales figures have been released by HM Land Registry for the month of July. Each month they produce the headline statistics based upon completed sales submitted by house buyers' lawyers...
29/08/2008:I'm having a nightmare... I'm right!
I've just woken from a nightmare. Recently, I explained how some houses were actually worth around 20% less than they were 12 months ago - if you really wanted to sell...
15/08/2008: Government kicks the housing market where it hurts
As if house sellers didn't have enough to worry about the Government has put the boot into the housing market with an extraordinary announcement that it's considering a potential freeze of Stamp Duty...
22/08/2008: Is your home worth 20% less than last year?
So, this time last year we were getting back from holiday to news that there were problems with a provincial bank in Newcastle...
31/07/2008: No sales in June?!
The latest sales figures have been published by HM Land Registry. Each month they produce the headline statistics based upon completed sales lodged by solicitors...
15/07/2008: Sellers beware!
Last week I sat in the offices of a central London agent waiting to see the boss. As I waited, the familiar bustle of a busy agency surrounded me and it was encouraging to hear the phones ringing and viewings being arranged...
04/07/2008: No new homes.
Last week the Government won the latest round for their controversial plans for 5 new Eco Towns to be built in the green fields of England but it's far from certain, that even if full planning permission is eventually granted they will ever be built. The reason? house builders and developers look to be on the road to bankruptcy.
10/06/2008: Where is this market going?
According to some surveys, house prices have started to fall with the over-quoted Halifax index down 2.4% last month alone. House sales in some areas have dropped by as much as 70% and the wheels have even started to come off the buy-to-let market. But where will we go from here?
2/06/2008: B&B problems show buy-to-let situation worsening
Buy-to-let property is the ticking timebomb under house prices. With the foundations of the market now starting to show financial subsidance, concern about this un-regulated sub-market has started to attract greater attention
22/05/2008: Huge gap opens between asking and actuall selling price
The latest survey of asking prices from property web site Rightmove.co.uk suggests that in large areas of the country sellers are building in room to negotiate into their guide prices....
12/05/2008: Has the world gone mad?
What is it with some people? I've just received news of what must be this year's most optimistic vendor...
6/05/2008: Estate agency offices closing at 150 a week?!
'Estate Agencies shut 150 branches a week' screams the headline in the newspaper this morning. '4000 job losses since the start of the year and the number of mortgages approved for home buyers has fallen by 44% in 12 months', it goes on to say...
15/04/2008: House prices falling by £1,000 a week
Latest figures released by Communities and Local Government confirm that house prices are falling fast, with the average price in February down to £217,000 from £221,000 in January....
9/04/2008: How far could the market fall?
April 1st brought us the monthly Land Registry figures which report the prices recorded by the agency when sales complete, usually a couple of months after the sale was agreed...
3/4/2008: How to save money selling your home
With newspapers screaming about the state of the market, mortgage lenders pulling out of the mortgage business by clearing their products off the shelves and the Diana Inquiry still dragging on it is sometimes hard to be optimistic that spring will ever arrive...
27/3/2008: One rule for the rich
House prices are booming - for properties worth £3m or more! The lower end of the market might be suffering as prices fall for the sixth month in a row, but money's still no object for the wealthy when it comes to property...
20/03/2008: If you want to sell, get real!
It's Easter and traditionally, a lot of homes go on the market over the bank holiday. It may sound harsh but if you want to sell your home now you really have got to appreciate the reality of the current market...
12/03/2008: The Budget - my view
When the Chancellor sat down having delivered his first budget we are all left worse off than when he stood up...
11/03/2008: Sale on... at your estate agents!
Estate agents around the country are slashing prices and our expert Henry Pryor looks at what this means for the property market...
04/03/2008: The market is in great shape! (or where will the housing market go from here? - Part 1)
Last weekend I found myself once again the butt of conversation and jokes about my reported pessimisson for the housing market...
27/02/2008: When DIY is worth it
There was a time when spring started later and daffodils and crocuses only stuck their heads out in April when the snow had retreated...
19/02/2008: Number of sold homes drops by 23%
19/02/2008: New figures released by Land Registry confirm that the property market took a significant dive last year with nearly 23% fewer houses sold in England and Wales...
