Mortgage approvals strong in July

[~Craig~]

Don't do it Craig, wait. A year ago the US didn't have a housing bubble, now its official.

Houses ain't going to rise from now on and I think you may see a sizeable drop in house prices.

A lot of house owners will be moving onto more expensive mortgages over the next few months, coupled with the tightening of credit, this will probably put pressure on house prices.

good advice, thanks!

[shaunbhoy]

good advice, thanks!

You are lucky that there are so many "property experts" on one site Craig. Some of them are so intuitive they were predicting the forthcoming "crash" some 3-4 years ago. They were right on the money............apart from the dates of course.

[oracleslave]

Ouch! I wouldn't be able to sleep nights. Does your partner also work?

Not for the last year or so.

[beaker]

A friend of mine bought a dodgy flat in North London for £180K last July. He just sold it for £275K and bought a house in the country.

Now I'm wondering whether to buy a flat for £250K, wondering if its worth it if I only stay in it for a few years.

[oracleslave]

I'm impressed. Good money being an Oracle slave then I assume.

Or is it BTL and all that malarky?

Have a BTL as well but not the one I was referring to.

[BlasterBates]

I would read this expert advice first:

Expert advice

...and then draw your own opinions.

[oracleslave]

I would read this expert advice first:

Expert advice

...and then draw your own opinions.

1 in 5. Not bad odds then...beats playing poker for a living.

[Bagpuss]

'Clear signs' of housing slowdown


Responding to the recent global stock market turmoil, the Nationwide said UK house prices "are unlikely to be significantly hit" in the short term.

But it cautioned that the "dependence of the UK economy on financial services poses a longer term risk" if market turbulence becomes a lasting problem.

The Nationwide added that it still expected house price growth for 2007 as a whole to slow to between 5% and 8%.

It sees three main reasons for this - weaker affordability as house prices continue to grow more quickly than earnings, the effect of higher interest rates and inflation, and thirdly, the expectation of lower prices.

"While it has taken some time for these factors to bite, there are now clearer signs of slower demand in the market reflected in the collapse in new buyer enquiries," said the building society.

The best hype the Nationwide can come up with this month is a collapse in demand.

Oh Dear!

[BlasterBates]

That prediction was before the credit crunch, i.e. credit being supplied at July's rates. So it is possible that the odds worsened.

A more up-to-date expert opinion

[bobhope]

The house price saga needs a churchill quote:

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

The fun should start soon.