Consumers urged to see buying a home as a sound investment

Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the residential sales arm of the National Federation of Property Professionals (NFOPP), comments: "The property market has been unsteady since the start of the year and quite an unpredictable one. It has been a tough time for the industry and a loss of confidence from consumers is clear from the drop in sales and a ‘wait and see' approach being adopted by so many.

"There has been a stream of negative information portrayed in the media and despite all of the pessimisms surrounding the industry a property should still be seen as a sound investment. The market is shaky now but it will return in the next year or two and when it does it will offer substantial returns. The reduction in new build homes is serving only to increase pent up demand. As long as a home is purchased with the plan to settle in and keep it for the foreseeable future then now is a great time to invest in a property."