“The market has 10% further to fall”-The Telegraph (09/02/09). “House prices have already hit the bottom” -Daily Mail (21/02/09). “Average sale prices rose 2%”-The Times (05/02/09). These are all statements taken from recent news articles.

As a casual observer, it can be close to impossible to know where the truth lies, who’s right, who’s wrong and who’s just looking for a good story.

My take on the market is very simple.

Demand has fallen dramatically due to the economic downturn and the structural lack of available credit from the main banking institutions. At the same time, affordability has increased even more as the Bank of England has slashed base rates to an historic low of just 0.5%. This means that for those who can get credit, monthly mortgage payments are likely to have more than halved in the past year.

In addition, we are now finally seeing the banks begin to slowly boost their lending of cash for homes with an increasing number of competitive mortgages on the market, some of which only require 10% deposits.

What does this mean?

It means that, despite a general lack of confidence from buyers in the housing market, the increasing availability of credit ensures that for the next few months at least, the pent-up demand from buyers unable to get mortgages over the last year can be serviced and we will see a mini-bounce that should last into the summer.

My view is that once this demand has been met, the movements of the market will be decided by general macro-economic factors such as the depth and length of the recession and the number of workers without jobs.

In essence, it would seem that now is as risk-free a time as any to sell while there is a quantum of stability in an otherwise volatile market. In the same way few predicted the scale of the housing crash in 2008, it would take a brave soul to second-guess the market any time past the next few months.

My Advice

If you need to ‘sell my house fast’, then now is the least risky time to do so. There are more buyers about, greater access to finance and less panic in the financial world so take advantage.

If you’d like further advice on cash for homes or if you’re worrying about ‘how can I sell my house fast?’ Contact SecureASale today for impartial advice on 020 7117 6001.

Desperately thinking, “How can I sell my home quickly?” The fast cash sale experts are here to help:

10. Know your competition and price competitively. What else is for sale at the moment? What prices have been achieved recently?

9. De-clutter, De-clutter, De-clutter. Buyers want to envisage THEIR lives at the property, not YOURS!

8. Have your Solicitor armed and ready with all you legal paperwork ready to go before a buyer is found so no time is wasted.

7. Have a for sale board outside your property and use all the available marketing at yours and your agent’s disposal – You’ll need it!

6. Let the agent run all viewings and make yourself as scarce as possible.

5. Consider instructing an agent in a better area than where you live.

4. Choose a proactive agency that will advertise your property on all websites.

3. Keep your property on the market and fully available until exchange of contracts.

2. Offer individual negotiators bonuses in order to keep them interested in your property sale.

1. If it’s not selling after all of the above, it’s the price! Keep lowering it by 10% increments until you achieve an offer. Remember you are in control and don’t have to accept it.

For more useful help, tip and advice on buying and selling, stay tuned to the SecureASale blog and keep an eye out for our Property Weekly webcasts.

Interest rates have tumbled, making mortgages cheaper. Northern Rock, HBOS, and Lloyds are pumping a combined £54billion of new lending into the market. The weakened pound is enticing foreign investors back into the investments market. This should all be favourable news. Yet in spite of all of this there is nowhere near enough lending going on to help strengthen the market again.

As fewer and fewer lending institutions are willing to loan money to customers, competition in the market has dried up, spelling doom for those wanting to take advantage of the stamp duty slash and get on the property ladder.

A 30k deposit on a 95% loan to value mortgage would have bought you a £600k property two years ago. Today you will be lucky to get a 75% loan to value mortgage which, incidentally, would only buy you a £120k property now.

In London there are no decent properties for £120k- there are barely any decent shoe boxes. In the capital we have reached a desperate crossroads in the market: Either the market will have to continue dropping until first time buyers can purchase with their meagre deposits or the banks will have to start offering 90% mortgages again. Neither scenario is ideal.

In this week’s webcast (our very first one) we cover the following topics:

- The Government’s latest mortgage “rescue” plan
- The Government undercutting the property market
- The exclusive Mayfair, London property market being hit
- Light at the end of the tunnel – there is still a market out there
- Having to get a 70% mortgage to see the benefit of the latest interest cuts
- The area’s in London most immune to the current property market crash

We would love to hear your suggestion or thoughts on our weekly webcasts – leave a message below:

2008 started slowly with the hangover for the manic record market of ‘07. By the end of 2008, the UK was in the worst housing slump since the 1930s. There are three main factors that have contributed to this heady downward spiral.

1 / Cyclical economic slowdown

After 15 years of non-stop growth, the UK economy had overheated and house price inflation had far-outpaced rises in average earnings. The average home was costing 7 times average earnings, which was unsustainable. A policy of low interest rates had led to the availability of cheap credit and properties had seemed affordable despite the ever-increasing prices. However, nervous of inflation running rampant, the Bank of England MPC gradually raised interest rates up to 5.75% in July 2007. This hit highly-leveraged borrowers hard, especially those on interest only mortgages and had the desired effect of substantially cooling the housing market.

2 / Worldwide banking crisis

When Northern Rock collapsed in the summer of 2007, it wasn’t a one-off event but was linked to the fallout from the sub-prime market both here and in the United States. Banks worldwide had gambled by lending to un-creditworthy customers who were left unable to afford their loans and therefore defaulted on them, often literally handing back their keys to the lender. As Northern Rock had grown its business by taking on risky debt, it soon found itself unable to secure funding to operate and the government had no choice but to bail it out. The banks then all took note of this and substantially tightened their lending criteria. In a matter of weeks, the days of 100% mortgages were gone and loan to value ratios were cut dramatically.

3 / Lending halt

This alone would be enough to cause a housing crash, but on top of this the banks stopped lending to each- other almost completely. This credit crunch affected the entire economy from small businesses to the largest industrials and we are now seeing the rising unemployment and reduced spending that a shrinking economy causes.

The result of this unhappy alliance of bleak news is that buyers couldn’t borrow money to fund their moves, vendors couldn’t afford to take lower offers on their homes as that often dragged them into negative equity and thousands of builders, estate agents and mortgage advisors went bust as business dried up.

The lettings market has been hit too as thousands of homeowners, unable to sell but needing to move have found themselves having to let their properties out, in effect becoming reluctant landlords and massively increasing supply.

The result of this is that prices have been dragged down in the rental sector and many buy to let investors are finding that their rents no longer cover their costs and their investments are repossessed by the bank, further damaging the market.

Is there a way out of this crisis?

The only route back to stability is for the banks to begin normal lending again both to each other and to homebuyers. Without this the market is in for an even worse 2009. Only time will tell.

Anyone holding out for the housing market to recover quickly could be waiting a long while judging by the recent data. The paper reports that the “HBOS House Price Index show traders are betting on the housing market falling far more over the next two years than the majority of commentators have so far forecast. If the fall is realised it would amount to a halving of house prices from its peak last year to the bottom of the market. The derivatives market also suggests it will take 10 years for prices to return to their current levels.”

SecureASale can buy your home quickly for cash. If you are facing repossession, trying to break a chain, stuck with a probate or just want to move on, then we could buy your property now. As London’s largest Cash Home Buyers, we can help you sell your flat or house fast.

Many companies also offer you the option to rent-back your home from them. While this would appear to be the most stress-free option and is hugely advantageous for the new owner (as they often take all the rent upfront and have a guaranteed tenant in the property), it is very rarely in the interest of the seller unless it is only for a very short period of time.

Why is this?

Well, if you can’t afford to pay the mortgage on your home, then you probably won’t be able to afford the rent either as the new owner has to ensure that the costs on their own finance are more than covered.

Most homeowners who are in an equity release situation like this are far better off downsizing and either purchasing or renting a cheaper property elsewhere. This will help to get you back on a stable financial footing. While it is always a hassle to move, making that change sooner rather than later can liberate you from the burden on financial stress and enable you to stop repossession, rebuild and make a fresh start.

If you absolutely have to rent-back your property from the new owner, please ensure that they are a well-capitalised, cash-funded business and research them thoroughly before you take the plunge. This is important as many so-called quick sale, cash for homes experts fail to keep up payments on mortgages they secure on homes they have bought and the property ends up being repossessed by the bank. This leads to the tenant being forced out, often having paid a substantial ‘rent’ upfront to the new owner.

For more advice, please call 020 7117 6001 and ask to speak to one of our directors.

More importantly, how do you know which cash for homes websites are legitimate and are going to deliver on their promises?

The key to finding your route through the fast house sales maze of promises is this important question:

“Will you buy my home for cash or will you need a mortgage?”

If the answer to the question is that the buyer needs a mortgage, you should steer well clear.

The reason for this is that the chances are that they will pass your details on to an unproven third party armchair investor on their list. These so-called investors will typically not put any of their own money into the deal and will try to purchase the property via a bridging loan which they later convert into a 100% mortgage using unethical brokers who take huge commissions for arranging this.

This leads to 3 problems:

1- Mortgages are much harder to arrange in the current climate and many investors are unable to complete their purchases, routinely breaking promises and renegotiating prices as they see fit.

2- Should the investor default on the mortgage, you are left particularly exposed if you are renting the property back from the investor. The home could be repossessed and you will be left homeless. The investor will lose nothing as they never put any cash into the deal in the first place.

3- Even if the purchaser can arrange finance, the chances are the deal will take weeks or months to complete, and not days as so often promised by these firms.

SecureASale is a cash-funded business and is well capitalised so we can guarantee to deliver on our promises every time. Most of our deals are completed in under a week and we do not pass your sale on to a third party. If you live in London and are looking for fast house sales for cash from a reputable cash buyer, then please call on 020 7117 6001 and ask to speak to one of our directors to arrange a free valuation. Remember, we pay cash for your house.

The number of repossessions in the second quarter of the year was 11,054, up 71% compared with a year earlier.

The Financial Services Authority has confirmed that the number of repossessions has been steadily rising since September 2007.

The Land Registry has also released statistics showing that there has been an 8% fall in house prices across England and Wales this year.

Mortgage rescue specialist SecureASale says, “In our opinion, prices are now back to 2005 levels and anyone aiming to sell should set a low price to attract the few buyers that are out there.”

“These figures show just how serious the downturn is. Our prediction is that prices still have a way to fall and that homeowners wanting to release equity should act now before prices drop further.

The number of people falling behind with their mortgage repayments for at least three months has also risen steadily for more than a year, the FSA confirmed. The BBC reported that cases were up a staggering 16% on a year ago.

SecureASale director, Tim Jackson, comments, “If you can’t afford to keep up repayments on your home, then we strongly recommend contacting your bank or building society immediately to discuss the situation with them. They may be able to grant a payment holiday which will buy you some time.”

SecureASale helps people in exactly these circumstances every day. Its fast cash homebuyer service can help struggling families back into the black. SecureASale will even guarantee to rent your home back to you, giving you peace of mind.

In fact, Allsop’s forthcoming auction catalogue is focused purely on repossessions and will no doubt be a great success – for the rich investors who are snapping up bargains!

The truth is quality family homes are not getting a look in at auction at the moment, as purchasers are only prepared to make very low bids that would send the average homeowner into negative equity.

SecureASale offers a completely discreet and personalised service and we guarantee to make an offer on every property we see. Unlike auctions, we don’t charge a fee and your neighbours needn’t know you’re selling. Very often, our offer works out higher than what you would achieve through auction.