The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has warned against speculation predicting price surges in the UK property market next year.
Chief executive, Mark Hayward, said 2013 will see the UK property market adapt to the turbulence of the past year and begin to stabilise but will be challenged in adapting to economic situation.
Hayward said: “I don’t believe we will see a surge in house prices during 2013, as some speculators have suggested. The market will continue to recover from historic lows since the recession, but that recovery will be slow and painful for many homeowners, particularly those outside London and the South East.
“In 2013 our big challenge is to improve the level of housing supply in the UK; much more needs to be done by Government to up the levels of new homes being built.
“More also needs to be done to support first time buyers, partly by encouraging lenders to offer products to support those seeking to purchase their first home. Transactions will likely remain suppressed at this lower end of the market as many prospective buyers do not yet have the confidence to borrow.”
Commenting on the success of the London Olympics and the predicted impact on house prices, Hayward said: “The North-South divide was laid bare during the Olympics, and although the promised house price boom in East London didn’t fully materialize, the knock-on effect on market confidence in London and the South East cannot be under estimated. The North of the UK continues to struggle to keep up with the modest housing recovery in the South, and 2013 will see this gap widen.”
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