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Property Market Helped By Relatively Low Levels Of Arrears
The absence of people who have been forced to sell their property has helped the housing market to sustain itself, according to the economics editor at the Sunday Times.
Speaking at the British Council of Shopping Centre conference and exhibition this month, David Smith said house prices have held up better than most people had expected during the recession.
"Because unemployment rose by less than people expected, we haven't had the phenomenon of the early 1990s when people had to sell because they had been made unemployed or they could no longer keep up the repayments," he explained.
However, Mr Smith went on to say that the amount of buying activity and property for sale is still a long way from pre-recession levels.
This month, the Financial Services Authority revealed that the number of new arrears cases in the second quarter of 2011 was 35,700, four per cent lower than the second quarter of 2010.
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Article date: 9/28/2011 12:00:00 AM