House Price Crash !

Housing market lull 'spreads from London'
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40874731

A slowdown in the housing market is spreading from London to other parts of the South East of England, surveyors suggest.
While the region is pulling down activity and average price growth in the UK, other areas saw price rises.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said Northern Ireland, the West Midlands and the South West of England posted increases in July.

Overall, 1% more UK surveyors reported prices rising rather than falling.
House prices remained "quite firmly on an upward trend" in some areas, Rics said.

But the balance of UK surveyors reporting price rises in July was down from 7% in June, partly owing to more surveyors in the South East reporting house price falls than the number reporting increases - a welcome move for many potential first-time buyers struggling to buy in this area.

The most expensive homes are particularly likely to have seen cuts in the asking price before being sold.
The July survey also found that, over the previous two months, there had been a particular gap between the original asking price and the agreed selling price for these homes.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Rics, said: "Sales activity in the housing market has been slipping in the recent months and the most worrying aspect of the latest survey is the suggestion that this could continue for some time to come.

"One reason for this is the recent series of tax changes but this is only part of the story. Lack of new build in the wake of the financial crisis is a more fundamental factor weighing on the market. And there are some very real consequences for the economy from all of this including the impact on the ability of people to be mobile when looking for work."

Estate agents' views

The regional disparities are evident from estate agents asked for their views in the Rics survey.
In the South West, James McKillop, of Knight Frank, said: "Some minor price reductions have triggered a good level of viewings and offers with an increasing number of deals as a result."

Many still point to a lack of supply as maintaining house price growth.
In the South and South East one estate agent said "real change is in the air" with many pointing to the questionable expectations of sellers.

Anthony Webb, from Trenchard Arlidge in Surrey, said: "Many asking prices are still at levels never seen and are too high."
Mark Everett, based in Epsom in Surrey, said: "The market is desperately price sensitive and too much stock is unrealistically overpriced."

Yes, but hardly relevant. Your titles read like The Sun at times, crash indeed.

Crashes always start this way !

As long as this crash doesn't happen the same day as N Korea goes down we'll be fine.

I think there will be a house price crash but make no mistake not yet.

You'll be ok Leopard,

What goes down goes back up again. Just make sure you are not too highly leveraged!

I was thinking the other day that all these Government schemes to help people get on the housing ladder are infact schemes to help the housebuilders ( government donors, I dare say some also supported Labour at some point! ) to sell houses!

I think there will be an assault on house prices through a move against Airbnb type properties, economic downturn, political turmoil in Europe,  housing benefit reforms. I do not know when these things will happen but feel they will.

The good thing for homeowners is they have one or more and there is a still a housing shortage.

I don't believe there will be a House Price Crash until I see Richard Hammond driving one.

the big question how sensitive the foreign investment in london is to currency movements and declining prices.

if it's emiratis and russian oligarchs, i doubt they give a **** (no value of money and laundering respectively), but you would think there are plenty who would get worried enough to start a firesale.

yes.

the interesting bit is how much dirty money, because it's just not going to be that price sensitive.

btlers/domestic investors may be slowly exiting the market, but with the massive increase in residential property as an investment asset class and london being a global attraction on that monopoly board, there could be a  massive rush to dump and a very precipitous crash which you would never get with owners alone.