Property prices 'to rise 5% in 2010'

Date:Monday 2nd November 2009
Author: Max Freedman

Property prices are set to rise by up to five per cent next year, according to estate agents haart.

Russell Jervis, managing director at haart, said it looks unlikely that figures will drop again this year and expects the five per cent growth "as a minimum".

"If more sellers gain confidence in the new year, we should see levels rising, maybe not to previous levels, but [to] a constant housing market with steady growth," he added.

The Land Registry reported last month that the average house price had risen 0.9 per cent in September.

There was an average of 48,109 property purchases between April and July this year. However, this was down more than 10,000 sales compared to the same period last year.

In London, the demand is still high with as much as a ten to one demand for property in some boroughs. Despite five consecutive months of price increases in the capital, the average price is still down 3.2 per cent year-on-year.