NAEA urges the market to remain upbeat

Following the release of the latest Halifax house price index, Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) urged people in the West Midlands not to worry.

“We are already aware from our own members that house prices are being affected differently throughout the country so to find such regional discrepancies comes as no surprise. However, we do need to keep this in perspective: the report also states that although prices have fallen by 5% in the West Midlands they have also increased by 150% in the last 10 years. Likewise, in Wales a drop of 4.7% was seen, again, against a backdrop of rises of 188% in the last 10 years.

“In months gone by, the East and West Midlands have shown fairly similar results. However this time, contrary to the West Midlands fall, the East rose by 2.2%. This highlights the current anomalies and the fact that you cannot look at one survey result in isolation.

“These figures are also set against the credit crunch, which has undoubtedly affected confidence in the market. However, the key factors that underpin the housing market still exist – low unemployment and a pent-up demand for houses. We can see from the figures in other regions that it is not all doom and gloom out there and in many regions the market is broadly stable. We need to tread very, very carefully before making judgements on the market at this current, unsettled, time.”