Consumers urged to keep house price figures 'in perspective'

Posted: 01 Aug 2008 13:09:47 GMT

Whilst the Nationwide house price index has shown that house prices have fallen again by 1.7 per cent, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has said that the figures need to be taken in context.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, has said that consumers need to remember that the report only shows a "snapshot" of the market.

Mr King said: "Despite the Nationwide report revealing that the price of a typical house fell by 1.7 per cent in July it is important to remember that the prices are on average £11,000 higher than three years ago."

He went on to say that in order for homebuyers and sellers to get a clearer picture of the market as a whole they needed to look at prices regionally, warning that there was a need to keep the figures "in perspective".

Despite the fact that the credit crunch has had a detrimental effect on consumer confidence, Mr King said that the public should be buoyed by the good fundamentals of "low unemployment, historically low interest rates and a pent-up demand for houses".

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