Concerns that the 2003 property market will see house prices continue to soar even further beyond the reach of the average buyer are likely to be wrong, suggests Home Sale Network’s national winter survey.

While public attention has focused on monthly reports of house price rises, the HSN survey revealed that there are clear signs that the property market has started to stabilise.

According to the survey, over the past six months, the number of potential buyers compared to the amount of homes for sale has started to realign.

Richard Tucker, Director of the Home Sale Network, said:

“Our survey shows that six months ago, competition between buyers was so fierce that there were 6.4 applicants for every home listed with our estate agents."

“Now, the balance between supply and demand has begun to even out, so that figure has decreased to 4.3 applicants to every listing.”

The survey also revealed that the average number of viewings to achieve a house sale has increased in the past six months, from 8.6 viewings to 9.2.

“Activity has become far less frenzied than it was previously, and as a result buyers are now taking more time before submitting an offer,” Mr. Tucker said.

“I expect that as supply and demand continues to equalise during 2003, the total number of viewings to secure a sale will increase even further,” he concluded.

The buoyant property market has seen the average cost of homes sold by Home Sale Network members increase by approximately 23% in just six months, from £117,900 in Spring 2002 to £144,980 in Winter 2002.

But in 2003, house price rises will be less dramatic says Mr. Tucker, who predicts that due to the stabilisation of the market, price increases will likely remain around 5 to 10 per cent for the next twelve months.

“As the market balances out, buyers will become more cautious and are unlikely to respond positively to over inflated prices. So vendors will have to be more realistic with their asking price, and houses that are priced competitively will be more likely to sell quickly,” Mr. Tucker said.

This spells good news for first-time buyers, who in many areas were squeezed out of the market last year. Nationally, there were 2% fewer first-time buyers looking to get on the property ladder than six months ago.

“Although price increases remain a reality, they will increase at a much more sustainable rate, so it should be easier for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder because the market will be more balanced,” Mr. Tucker concluded.

Other highlights of Home Sale Network’s winter survey include:

• Nationally it is taking 5 weeks less to complete a sale than six months ago – it is now taking 10.5 weeks from the point of putting an offer on a house to completion of the sale. This suggests that since the market is not as frenzied, chains are easier to set up and less likely to fall through than was the case in 2002.
• Yorkshire and Humberside and Wales were the only regions that saw an increase in first-time buyers over the past six months - which is not surprising since these two regions remain among the most affordable in the UK.
• In contrast to the national trend, the East Midlands, North West, Wales and Scotland are seeing a decrease in the average number of viewings to secure a house sale. This suggests that the market remains buoyant in these regions and buyers continue to act quickly when interested in a property.