Why do certain estate agents and property market analysts insist on talking the property market down? Christian Harper of Oliver Finn has had enough.
Once again, Savills estate agent is leading the charge in bashing the property market with its statement all over yesterday’s national press, that London property prices are sliding.
London property, the traditional barometer for the rest of the UK housing market, is weakening in key residential and commercial areas, Savills has warned.
Prime London locations, saw prices slide an average of 1.5pc during the first three months of the year, the estate agent said. This followed a 2pc fall in the final quarter of last year. Although this makes investment prices more attractive, a shortage of sellers means that fewer deals are being done.
This warning follows on from the similarly negative prediction from Savills just over a week ago that UK house prices will fall by 6% over 2 years and that the ‘pain will be felt in the most exclusive postcodes’.
This in turn trails its previous predictions (now revised) that the market is going to fall by 25%. Such negative reporting is completely unnecessary to my way of thinking because the resultant gloomy journalism just talks the market down.
Homes not investments
We should be defending the market as there is more at stake than investment. What about the emotion and practicalities? People need somewhere to live. Growing families need more space. First time buyers need to get on the property ladder. People aspire to a better street or nicer neighbourhood.
I have had my fill of gloomy analysts working purely on investment and it is arrogant to make such sweeping statements in the national press.
Journalists are going wild though because it makes for punchy headlines. They’re increasingly reporting bad news based on generic statistics that surface year after year. It’s a shame Savills can’t come up with other ways of getting press attention.
All of us should just leave the property market alone otherwise we’ll just talk ourselves into a recession.
Christian Harper of Oliver Finn
