UK House Sales Will Collapse In 2020

House sales in the UK will collapse this year as the coronavirus pandemic puts the property market into deep freeze. But prices will fall by only 3% and will rebound next year, according to global consultancy Knight Frank. In the first reassessment of the property market by one of the major forecasters, Knight Frank said the number of house sales in the UK would plummet from 1,175,000 last year to just 734,000 this year. Many of the “lost” sales will not be carried forward to next year, spelling disaster for estate agents and other firms in the property chain. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/06/house-prices-will-not-fall-far-despite-lockdown-says-study

Britain 'Is On The Brink Of The Worst House Price Collapse Since 1990s'

House prices are teetering on the brink of a crash that could be as bad as the bust of the early 1990s, a leading expert has warned. There are already warning signs that prices are heading towards a near 40 per cent plunge, warns Paul Cheshire, Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics. It raises the alarming spectre of the return of ‘negative equity’ – when a house falls so far in value it is worth less than the mortgage – which hit one million people at the worst point in the 1990s. Read more on the Daily Mail website.

Boom in Buy-To-Let Mortgages Could Bring Economic Collapse

Lord Lamont, chancellor during the last recession in the 1990s, has warned ministers to be wary of the sudden growth in the buy-to-let property market which he fears could collapse, causing wider economic catastrophe.  The rapid boom in the market should not be a cause of unqualified celebration he warns because of the impact that an inevitable rise in interest rates will have on lenders and buyers.  Lending to landlords hit £5bn in the past three months, even before the Bank of England's pledge to keep interest rates low. More than one in 10 mortgages are being handed to prospective landlords who are taking advantage of a low interest rate and the pledge by the Bank's new governor that it will not rise until employment reaches 7%, a threshold that is not expected to be reached until 2016.  Read more on the Observer website.