Peter Rollings, managing director of estate agent Marsh & Parsons, believes we are bumping along the bottom for house prices. Commenting, he said: “This is the bottom for house prices – especially in London. The Land Registry is the most reliable index and it confirms what Nationwide has seen in the past couple of months. We’re not going to see prices recover quickly, and yes, average growth will keep flitting up a bit and down a bit over the coming months. But we’re bumping along the bottom of the market now – and will continue to do so until the end of the year.”
Nicholas Leeming, director of propertyfinder.com, said: “The Land Registry provides further evidence that the housing market rot is stopping. Price falls are slowing and transactions have begun to recover from their lows. The data comes out rather late so current conditions are likely to be more positive still. In London, where interest from buyers has recovered fastest, house prices bounced back strongest in April. London often leads the way so good news in the capital is good news for everyone. Confidence in the housing market is at its highest since the credit crunch began and, although the road to recovery may be long, it seems the worst is behind us.”
As pessimistic as ever, Capital Economics said: “Land Registry data suggest that the pace of the housing market correction may be easing. In our view, however, with a sustained recovery in the economy a long way off, mortgage credit conditions still tight, and unemployment rising sharply, growing hopes that house prices may be finding a floor seem premature.”
