Housing market 'worse than last year'
FOLLOWING a historically bad year for house sales, 2014 is set to be even worse as mortgage lenders tighten their criteria, an estate agent has said.
While the latest Policy Council residential propertyprices bulletin revealed that average house prices have risen by 1.1% – to £453,398 – in the first quarterof 2014, the number of sales has dropped.
During the first quarter just 131 properties were sold. This compares with 142 in the first quarter of 2013 and 170 for the same period in 2012.
Mortgage lenders tightening up their lending criteria has been blamed for the decline.
Martel Maides director Keith Enevoldsen, pictured, said there has been some erosion of property prices to encourage sales, but fewer property were going through.
'People are finding it very difficult to get the finance,' he said.
'In the past buyers would get a homebuyer's report, but now lenders want drain surveys, timber surveys and electrical reports. And some banks are insisting that any work needs to be carried out within a timescale, like a year.'
He added that the introduction of new Mortgage Market Review guidelines in the UK, which might be adopted by local lenders, could slow the system further.
