NW consumer sentiment ‘swinging to positive’, says Rightmove
More than 65% of people in the North West surveyed by house sales website Rightmove said now was a good time to buy.
Rightmove's first ever consumer confidence survey polled 28,000 people across the country over a two-week period.
Miles Shipside, commercial director at Rightmove, said: "With interest rates at historic lows and set to fall further, and property deals available at around 25% below peak boom prices, buying has got a whole lot cheaper. Other assets now seem a lot less solid than bricks and mortar so the time-to-buy pendulum is swinging from negative to positive. It's aided by some homeowners' mortgage repaymemnts being the lowest they have ever experienced and the prospect of them getting even cheaper – a real turnaround from just a few months ago."
However, the survey pointed to the stand-off between buyers and sellers, with only 1% of North West respondents saying its was a good time to sell. One third of those surveyed in the region believed their house price would be down by more than 10% in a year's time, compared to 1% who said it would be up by 10%.
