2008 HOLDS PROMISE OF 'TEMPTING BUYS'

"The number of Buy-to-Let mortgage products has declined by 50%, and buyers can't buy anything without a deposit of at least 20%.

"Nobody expects massive price falls, but nobody knows how long the credit crunch will last, and where the floor might be on prices. That will only become apparent when the banks are confident enough to start lending again."

Williams says problems for builders are exacerbated because Government policy forced them to build small apartments in city centres.

"That sector faces oversupply in some locations. Experienced investors are going for second-hand stock out in the suburbs and small regional towns, if they still have the spare cash and inclination to invest."

Writing in Property Week magazine, Grant Bovey, chief executive of Imagine Homes which buys new homes on behalf of private investors, says: "If you are looking to invest in property, there are deals to be done if you are well informed, well resourced and can move quickly.

"However, this window will not be open for long."

Mr Bovey thinks it is "only a matter of time" before Government subjects the Buy-to-Let sector to the level of regulation already applied to financial services.

:: INFORMATION: Oakdene Homes' scheme of apartments and houses in a conversion of the former Whitecroft Hospital near Newport on the Isle of Wight launched in October with two bedroomed flats from £249,950. Oakdene is on 01737 249 393 or at www.oakdene-homes.co.uk

:: SELF-BUILDERS FACE CHASE FOR LAND PLOTS

It worked a £2 million treat for soccer star Wayne Rooney and his fiancee Coleen - and many more people want to build their own home after the success of the TV series Grand Designs and the willingness of lenders to finance the project.

Says Jason Orme, editor of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine: "Finding land is always the big problem for self-builders, particularly in Southern England.

"But developers are not as keen on individual plots as they were a couple of years ago - and that leaves an opening for self-builders keen to put their own ideas into practice."

The £6.6 billion self-build market produces 20,000 homes a year. Most self-builders call in the professionals to tackle difficult parts of the job.

The land is likely to cost about 40% of a home's eventual value - but plots are so rare in popular locations that existing homes are often bought at auction and demolished to make way for new designs.

Relaxation of planning laws also means that a wide range of new buildings and extensions can be built without planning permission - with only building regulations consent required.

According to figures from Plotsearch, the land division of BuildStore which helps self-builders, "the average price of a plot is around £154,000. South-East England buyers are more likely to have to pay £200,000-£250,000."

For a detached house, construction costs can be anything from £80,000-£250,000-plus. But with features including inglenook fireplaces, whirlpool baths and bespoke kitchens, the specification is invariably superior to mass market designs, and self-builders reckon to save at least 30% of the cost of a similar house in the open market.

Whether they dream of a barn conversion, a hi-tech listed farmhouse, a cutting edge contemporary home or a glass basement extension, would-be self-builders will find plenty of ideas and expert advice at The National Homebuilding and Renovating Show at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre (NEC) on April 10-13.

Home owners planning sizeable extensions to their home will also find plenty of ideas, they might get extra living space without having to pay stamp duty.

Expected to attract almost 50,000 visitors over four days, this year's event will include The Smart Home Show - dedicated to integrated home technology, with seminars, advice clinics and specialist exhibitors.

The Eco Homes Show will feature key product areas from renewable energy, insulation, heating systems and building materials through to the products designed to save energy and money within the home.

Enthusiasts of older properties will head for The Restoration Pavilion - which shows how to restore period features and blend older properties with the stricter energy-saving standards of a new home.

Self-builders can claim back all VAT charged on materials and services for a new house build, while converting a property to residential use (e.g, a barn or former school) is also a VAT-free.

To finance a self-build project for those with little cash of their own, Buildstore arranges loans through a handful of lenders which offer up to 95% of all the money needed upfront, through its accelerator self-build mortgage.

The multiplier, which decides how much money self-builders can borrow, is similar to the figure applied in the mainstream housing market; four times joint income or five times the single income.

Self-builders holding substantial equity in their existing home might find it cheaper to raise extra money on that mortgage. Once building work is completed, an ordinary mortgage is usually cheaper than a specialist self-build version.

:: INFORMATION: Tickets for the National Homebuilding and Renovating Show at Birmingham NEC cost £10 in advance on 0871 945 4547 or online at www.homebuildingshow.co.uk, or £14 at the door.

BuildStore, based in Livingstone, Scotland, also runs the Plotsearch service which publishes a quarterly land report and database comparing plot prices, build costs and self-build property values. Buildstore enquiries: 0870 870 9991 and www.buildstore.o.uk).

National Self-Build & Renovation Centre, launched in partnership with EDF Energy just off the M4 at Swindon in February 2007, is open five days a week, with tickets from £8 per day. Details on 08700 600 100 and online at www.mykindofhome.co.uk.

Sponsors of Centre include Hanson, Federation of Master Builders, Intelligent Finance, Karcher, Potton and Zurich Insurance.

Norwich and Peterborough BS is a specialist self-build lender: 0845 300 2511.

:: Note to editors: If your publication wishes to launch a competition/offer to provide free tickets to the event at Birmingham's NEC, contact Karina Wallace of Shaker PR on 01435 884 808 or at karina@shakerpr.co.uk

:: AUCTIONS WILL TEST BUYER SENTIMENT

Have buyers still got the nerve - and ready cash - to chase homes going under the hammer when prospects are so uncertain?

Two sales in mid-February will be a key test of opinion in London suburbs and southern England. Investors might have been encouraged by reports in recent days that rental demand is rising as tenants opt to delay their purchases.

At Savills, with a sale at The Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington High Street in February 11, Chris-Coleman-Smith maintains: "The doom and gloom in the market is almost certainly overdone.

"Most people accept property prices can't always go up, and the buyers are still out there, as least as far as the London market is concerned.

"Outside London, I'm not so sure - but our recent sale in Nottingham saw 80% of lots sold."

Savills sale includes a promising three bedroomed mid-terraced house in up-and-coming Walthamstow, north-east London and handily placed for Epping Forest, guided at £170,000-plus. It may have been left in a will to a charity by its owner.

Repossessions include a mid-terrace house in Barry, South Glamorgan (£100,000+) and a three bedroomed mid-terrace house in Orrell, Wigan (£75,000+).

From south London specialist Andrews & Robertsons/Wilmotts, the sale on February 14 of 212 lots reaches beyond the capital to include cottages repossessed by lenders: two bedroomed Willow Cottage in Charney Bassett, Wantage, Oxfordshire (£310,000+) and a three bedroomed detached cottage in Dursley, Gloucestershire (price to be advised).

:: INFORMATION: Andrews & Robertson (020 7703 4401); Savills (020 7824 9091).

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