Banks 'playing a part' in rapid house price falls

Posted: 11 Dec 2008 11:19:23 GMT

Banks which insist on selling repossessed homes at bargain prices through property auctions are partly responsible for the rate at which house prices have been falling, it has been claimed.

Estate agents have rounded on banks over the issue, claiming that their trend for selling repossessed properties at as cheap a price as possible has led to the continuation of sharp falls in house prices nationwide.

Peter Bolton-King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, explained in a Daily Telegraph report: "It is frustrating for an estate agent to have a property that they were selling be taken away and given to another agent who is working for a lender and may not even be in the area."

Certainly, the phenomenon will upset those hoping to sell a property, as well as those who have recently purchased a home who will now be facing negative equity.

Those hoping to sell a property for as high a price as possible could cut out the expensive middle man estate agents by selling their property online.

Avoiding estate agent fees may mean that a home is sold quicker and for more, as buyers will be faced with fewer fees to pay to an estate agent.

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