Housing crisis continues to drive young professionals to rent

22 2008
Homeowners who bought their houses in August 2007 may be wishing they'd chosen to rent instead after an independent economic forecasting agency predicted that house prices will have dropped by over a third (35 per cent) by autumn 2009.

The phrase 'safe as houses' may need to be re-thought as UK homeowners come to terms with tens of thousands of pounds being stripped from the value of their homes.

By next autumn, the average house price will have fallen by £65,000 to £120,000, according to the study by Capital Economics.

The company had initially predicted that house prices wouldn't fall by 35 per cent until almost 2011, but revised their assessment, saying the collapse will continue at a much faster rate.

With this in mind, young professionals may delay getting on the property ladder until the market has bottomed out.

In the mean time, many will be likely to seek out high-quality rented accommodation in the UK's trendiest cities.

With a 53 per cent decline in housing transactions in September, according to HM Revenue and Customs, it appears some may already be turning their back on the housing market, looking to rent instead.
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