NAEA reassurance for property investment

An estate agents’ group has rejected some of the “doom and gloom” predictions on falling UK house prices and claimed the market is stabilising after huge price hikes. The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) said surveys published by other bodies only give a partial picture of what is happening in the housing market.

Officials from the group said the situation was “mixed” across the country and added some areas were more affected by slumping values than others. NAEA vice president Chris Wood said recent figures from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showing a drop in the average home price “told only part of the story”.

He said:

“We are already aware from our own members that house prices are being affected differently throughout the country so to see that the report showed an aggregate drop in house price comes as no surprise.

“However, there is a real need to keep this in perspective. The picture is mixed across the country and some areas will be more affected than others, so people really need to look to their local markets to get a true picture.”

His comments could provide some reassurance to property investment specialists following previous experts’ claims prices could carry on falling through 2008.

Mr Wood added:

“Rather than a dramatic fall that some “doom and gloom” merchants are predicting, it shows we are looking at a return to a more steady market.”

The NAEA, the residential sales arm of the National Federation of Property Professionals, is the UK’s leading professional body for estate agency personnel, representing around 10,000 members.