CEBR report supports popularity of rental sector

05 2008
The British housing market is unlikely to pick up again until 2010 at the earliest, it has been suggested, with many professionals likely to take such pessimism as a cue to stay in the rental sector for the time being.

According to a new report released by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), the cost of an average home across the UK looks set to fall by around eight per cent over the course of this year, with this decline then capped off by a four per cent drop in 2009.

This conclusion supports the gloomy picture painted by this week's report from Nationwide and could serve as the final straw for those considering making a move out of the rental sector, with many likely to decline to make a commitment in such a turbulent market.

Richard Snook, an economist at CEBR, noted, however, that the situation may pick up in a few years:

"When prices have fallen in the past, we have seen house building slow quite rapidly but take a lot longer to come back, which leads to demand outstripping supply," he said.

"With the fundamentals of the housing market still relatively tight, the credit crunch might already have sown the seeds of the next house price boom."ADNFCR-1219-ID-18716799-ADNFCR

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