More viewings stem from sunshine
As most industry experts know the figures relating to property sales and viewings have not been all that impressive over the past few years, with everything from unusually cold weather conditions to restrictions in the mortgage market keeping potential buyers away from property.
However, the past few weeks has seen something of a turnaround, with officials reporting some encouraging figures when it comes to the property market.
April has been an unusual month for many consumers for a number of reasons. Firstly, the sunshine this year along with the temperatures have been amongst the highest on record for the time of year, which has delighted many consumers who are often stuck in their homes because of the bad UK weather.
On top of this consumers have been treated to two extra long four day weekends on the trot as a result of Easter followed by the Royal Wedding.
This combination has obviously given consumers the time and the inclination to get out and about, as officials from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reported that there was an increase in the number of people viewing properties for the month of April.
It is thought that the great weather and the extra time off helped to spur people on when it came to viewing, and that this may have been further encouraged by lower property prices in many areas of the country.
RICS surveyors did not want to read too much into the encouraging figures, with one stating: “The return of sellers to the market is positive, but activity still remains subdued and it is difficult to see it picking up materially over the coming months.
Although there are signs that some lenders may be reducing their grip on the purse strings, in particular with mortgages aimed at first-time buyers, there is still a long way to go before lending levels increase enough to have any real impact. Economic uncertainty may also continue to weigh on sentiment for a while to come.”
However, with the group expecting property prices to fall further over the coming months there may be many property investors who will be keeping a close eye on the market in order to snap up the bargains as they come along.
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Tags: first time buyers, property investors, property ladder, property market
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