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Advantage buyers in flat housing market

Wednesday, 1 February 2012 11:21 AM

Buyers are set to gain an advantage in the housing market over the next few months but a shortage of homes for sale will ensure prices stay flat, according to the Nationwide.

The building society said house prices fell another 0.2 per cent in January but are still 0.6 per cent higher than a year ago. After this second monthly fall in a row, the average price of a home across the UK is now £162,228.

The Nationwide said the fall was not surprising given conditions in the wider economy. Robert Gardner, chief economist, said: "The demand/supply balance may move further in favour of buyers in the months ahead.

"The economy is not expected to gather much momentum until the second half of 2012 at the earliest, which suggests that labour market conditions and buyer sentiment may be slow to improve.

"Nevertheless, with the flow of properties coming onto the market still more of a trickle than a flood, house prices are likely to continue to move sideways or only modestly lower in the months ahead."

Nationwide said finding a deposit was likely to remain the main problem facing buyers despite some improvement that meant the median deposit had fallen from 25 per cent to 20 per cent since early 2010.

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