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Balance of market power switches to buyers

Monday, 30 January 2012 9:09 AM

Six out of ten home movers believe we are now in a buyers' market, according to Rightmove.

The property website's first Consumer Confidence Survey of 2012 says 60 per cent of movers think the market currently favours buyers rather than sellers, compared to 13 per cent who think the odds are in favour of sellers. The rest think it favours neither.

However, there is a significant North-South divide between regions. Scotland is the region where most movers think it's a buyers' market (68 per cent), closely followed by Yorkshire and the East Midlands (66 per cent). In all three regions only nine per cent think the market favours sellers.

In contrast, only 47 per cent of London movers think the odds are in favour of buyers, with 23 per cent thinking they favour sellers.

Despite these results, the proportion of people nationwide thinking house prices will be the same or higher in 12 months' time actually increased to 66 per cent from 62 per cent in the last survey of 2011.

However, there is again a big difference within and between regions. Some 40 per cent of people in South West London think prices will be higher compared to just 14 per cent in Blackpool.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: "There is a clear North-South divide in both house price expectations and an even more acute contrast of opinion in where the balance of power lies."

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