London House Price News: Keeping prices stable 'could prevent younger buyers from investing'
2010-05-30 06:30:20
Keeping London house prices stable for an extended amount of time could prevent more first time buyers from getting onto the property ladder.
This is the opinion of Matt Griffith, spokesman for PricedOut, who said static house prices "would leave the younger generation in a deeply unsatisfactory no man's land and keep homeownership out of the reach of many people for some time to come".
His comments come after the Rightmove Consumer Confidence survey found the number of people who are predicting higher property prices in 12 months' time has decreased to 24 per cent, which is the lowest level for two years.
"It is of course possible that house prices tread water for some considerable time - and wage inflation allows an adjustment of affordability in real terms," Mr Griffith pointed out.
"For the government this will be a 'get out of jail free' card - reducing prices in the long-term but without upsetting existing homeowners too much," he added.
