There has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth on the part of surveyors in regards to house prices across the UK thanks to a survey conducted in August by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that found prices expected to fall for the remaining last quarter of 2010.

Jeremy Leaf, spokesman for the RICS, was singing a different tune; while there is the possibility that house prices may be slipping in several areas across the UK, Mr Leaf said, the result may actually be an uptick in the number of house sales.

Mr Leaf felt that the RICS has been receiving price indicators that tell a story with mixed results, which is to be expected with so much uncertainty in regards to the British economy, the lack of new home construction, and the low interest rate levels.

In related news, a recent report by the Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed that in the month of July the amount of contractor mortgage loans approved by lending institutions amounted to only 56,000. The CML report stated as well that there was a further decline in the number of approved loans for first-time home buyers to 19,400 for the month, which was down from the 19,700 June figure and also down from the 20,100 that were approved last year in the same time period.

Moreover, in a decline that marks the lowest level since the global economic downturn began three years ago, market share for first-time buyers fell to 34 per cent.

The CML made the suggestion that the criteria for loan approval have hardened from the beginning of 2010, where the required deposit has grown from 21 per cent in the months of April and May to the July figure of 24 per cent.

In good news, due to interest rates being quite low at the moment, any home buyers are faced with interest payments which have not been more affordable for several years, the last low having occurred in the early months of 2004.

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It will come as no surprise to read that total mortgage lending in 2009 dropped in 2009. Total lending was £143.7 billion, down by 43 per cent in comparison with the previous ear. However these figures are better than some analysts had predicted.

The good news is that the contractor mortgage market does appear to be recovering. The Council for Mortgage Lenders report that the last month of the year saw the first year-on-year rise in lending since the start of the credit crunch. At £13.7bn, lending was 14% up on November and 3% ahead of December 2008.

CML economist Paul Samter says that while this may have been due to the impending close of the stamp duty holiday for properties under £175,000, there is “every reason to expect a gradual improvement in the latter part of the year”.

This seems to be borne out by comments from Paula John, editor of Your Mortgage, who says that so far, 2010 has been more upbeat for the housing market than many people would have previously anticipated.

“There has been more activity in the housing market, first-time buyer numbers are not dramatically up or down on their historical average, but they have picked up a bit which is always good news,” she commented.

However, she states that people are still “sitting tight” and not wanting to move house because of the 40 per cent minimum deposit that is required for the best home loan deals.

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