Property market 'still faces many constraints'

Posted: 26 Aug 2009 09:58:02 GMT

Despite the fall in house prices during the recession, first-time buyers are still being constrained by other factors, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said.

Bernard Clarke, a spokesperson for the CML, said that lower property prices are a reflection of a difficult market and there are still conditions holding some buyers back from buying a house.

"The simple truth is that lower prices will encourage buyers but they will be constrained by things [such as] some of the difficulties in obtaining a mortgage," he explained.

Other reasons cited by Mr Clarke included finding the means for a large deposit and worries about what will happen with house prices in the future, job security and the economy.

However, he went on to say that it was not "appropriate" to encourage people to get onto the property ladder as this was a decision that needs to be made dependent on an individual's circumstances.

Published earlier this month, the Rightmove House Price Index indicated that some 75 per cent of people looking to buy or sell property in the next year do not expect house prices to fall any further.

Asking prices were 2.2 per cent lower in July, it added, which is an average of £5,102 in real terms.


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