People looking for a contractor mortgage may like to know that the National Association of Estate Agents has predicted that the UK housing market will begin a gradual recovery this year.
Peter Bolton King, the Chief executive of the NAEA, said that although their will be a gradual recovery, we should not expect to see a major upturn from the conditions of 2011.
He does not think that house prices will fall significantly in 2012, rather they will remain similar to those seen last year.
The lack of finance will still be the biggest barrier to house purchase and first time buyers will find it particularly hard to secure a mortgage from the major institutions as they continue to adhere to strict lending criteria. The abolition of the stamp duty holiday in Q2 will be an added burden for first timers, he added.
He also expects to see an increase in micro housing markets where demand in some areas creates a healthy market whilst less desirable areas get left behind. The demand for housing in the South East and London will increase during 2012 and this will push up prices in those areas. But, on the whole, he expects average house prices across the UK to remain reasonably unchanged this year.
Mr Bolton King finished off by saying that confidence would be a key factor this year and to some extent this would be driven by the media.
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