Home-owners believe prices will rise

Oh dear more unrealistic expectations. Who keeps feeding this nonsense. Ask a buyer if prices will rise = "No". Ask the same person if selling = "Yes". Now ask if they can afford the "Yes" and the answer is "NO".
Not until affordability starts to exceed markey value will prices rise.... who's had 5% pay rise bankers excluded)?

• 14 January 2010 15:00 PM

AceOfSpades - Ah, now we are getting somewhere! You are correct in your theory that JP may think it is wise to wait - and that is where WE step in with the responses! Buyers - buy now before prices rise. Sellers - sell now as people will want to buy your properety at a cheaoper rate - and buy now before prices rise on your next home, thereby saving you money in the long-run. Simples!

• 07 January 2010 13:26 PM

PeeBee, To us, the article is a load of rubbish. But I do agree that when read by Joe Public you would have a different reaction. You are right. The press are far too good at headlining the doom and gloom (and multiplying it by 100) to get some extra sales that day, but having a long term damaging effect on the public opinion causing a chain reaction. We do need more positive news! Promoting this stat to your target audience is a good move. However, might it put people off selling with you for at least another 6 months, in the hope that their price does increase?

• 07 January 2010 10:21 AM

AceOfSpades - how right you are. HOWEVER... what Joe Public know of the property market, they mainly glean from the press. You, I, and many more have bemoaned on this site for months about negative press and the devastating effect it has on the home selling profession. My point is that maybe - just maybe - positive press like this will get some of the buyers and sellers off the fence and do some deals. When sales pick up, those that we used to call 'lenders' will be more confident to lend again. I will be quoting the headline in every bit of marketing material in my arsenal. What's the worst that could happen...?

• 06 January 2010 23:09 PM

Harrison - nope - Joe Public don't hope - they BELIEVE. That's what the article says. You aren't doubting the Press, are you...?

• 06 January 2010 22:59 PM

Peebee, "As it is they who ultimately control the market, should we not take notice?" Of the public who took part, how many have a thorough knowledge of the current state of the propterty market? A miniscule number. Like the others have said, its based upon wishful thinking really, which has been grouped as a statistic based on a (largely) un-informed opinion. If Zoopla had asked what home owners want from their estate agent when selling with them, that is something they typically have a (better) understanding of and something we can physically work with. A useful question, directed at the right audience. This article, in all fairness, is just a page filler. The question isn't necessarily a bad one, its just the wrong people have been asked. It's like askng estate agents what is going to happen with the price of petrol this year. You buy it regularly, but estate agents aren't the key audience to ask this to, especially if the question is going to be published as an attempted statistic to the top dogs at BP.

• 06 January 2010 17:34 PM

PeeBee, I don't think you should take notice. A survey of this kind is really only telling you "Home-owners HOPE prices will rise". Of course they do, but if the response is higher asking prices then (in most regions) the market will likely stagnate further. Incidentally, the survey is actually just PR for Zoopla, so the reason for it being published isn't anything to do with what home-owners believe (unless they believe in PR!)

• 06 January 2010 15:16 PM

Mark - whilst I completely agree with the majority of what you say, firstly, I can call on over 750 years of combined experience in the property market including my own 30+, and of these, none can accurately predict the housing market at this point. The market is driven by far too many forces to be able to do so - as is evident by the myriad of 'expert predictions' all announcing something different (but, hey, if it gets yer name in the press, why not...). Of course, the one factor that no-one has any control over is public opinion - and if the horse don't want to drink, then it don't matter how big the trough is that you finally lead it to, it won't! On another point, EAT, by reporting this to us (and don't forget it has come from another source and they are simply posting it for our info...) are giving us some insight into how those darned 'general public' are thinking at the present. As it is they who ultimately control the market, should we not take notice?

• 06 January 2010 11:58 AM

Well, as all us agents know, members of the public who move house about 4 times in their adult life know much more about the housing market than we who deal with with that many in just one week.......sigh! why is it that so many media outlets take the opinion of the man in the street and call it news? it's not! it's more often than not either wishful thinking or a prohpet of doom. Now these home-owners had access to, and actually taken the time to read, all the available data regarding the economy, current market trends, etc. etc., they would have either a) been totally bored and stopped reading after 5 mins, b) been totally confused, or c) read it and simply regujitated the parts they understood. It takes years to know enough about the Housing Market to make worthwhile prediction about the housing market, so what is the point in an article like this? Is EAT just trying to illustrate how little time the public spend thinking before speaking?

• 06 January 2010 10:17 AM

Great news. Unfortunately, only when BUYERS and LENDERS believe this also, will we see any major improvement in the market!

• 06 January 2010 09:24 AM