House prices 'will drop 35%'

Posted: 24 Dec 2008 12:11:53 GMT

A leading market analyst announced recently that the chances of the housing market returning to strength next summer are low, instead claiming that there is a greater chance that prices will fall for another two years.

George Buckley, chief UK economist of Deutsche Bank, added weight to many previous arguments that the housing market will only bounce back once the market value has dropped a full 35 per cent.

Such a claim is at odds with more recently optimistic ideas taken from the rising number of first-time buyers and low interest rates, which suggest that a bounce back could be seen in mid-2009.

"If you look at what happened in the early nineties it is arguable that like then we had had a big boom, but this time we've also got a credit crunch and a global recession on top," Mr Buckley explained in an Evening Standard report.

"Property was massively overvalued. It was always the elephant in the room that nobody would admit to."

Those hoping to sell a property sooner to avoid negative equity could achieve a cheaper deal and higher price by advertising their property online.

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