Bank provides confidence boost for property market

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has enthusiastically welcomed the move by the Bank of England today to reduce interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 5.25%.

Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive at the NAEA, comments: “There is a serious lack of confidence in the market at the moment and I sincerely hope that the latest interest rate cut will help.

“Doom and gloom mongers have been working hard recently to spread their word about problems in the market. The truth is, though, that the situation is not nearly as dire as some would have us believe. Our agents on the ground are reporting steady local markets in a large number of areas. While we may not be enjoying quite the heady price rises of recent years, the market is still holding its own for the time being.

“It’s a shame that the Bank waited until now to reduce rates again – a drop in January following the December cut could have been particularly good news for consumer confidence. I am hopeful, though, that this latest decrease will prove the catalyst we’ve been waiting for to restore faith in the market.”