Buyer's Guide : A Good Time To Move ? (Preview)

The housing market has been suffering since the credit crunch, but behind the gloomy headlines is a more complicated reality.

While prices fell for the fourth month in a row over January, nationally the falls only affected 23 per cent of the country, compared to 30 per cent in December, leaving 77 per cent of the country unaffected.

And although loans for house purchase are down, and buyers are adopting a wait-and-see attitude, website traffic reveals that people still remain very interested in bricks and mortar.

Our stats here at FindaProperty.com showed a 19 per cent year-on-year rise in visitor numbers in January, a trend that suggests there's still a large number of potential buyers keeping their eyes on the market.

Commenting on the figures, our own expert, Content Editor Mike O'Flynn, says: "A cooling market has put buyers in the driver's seat, and with prices falling in some areas there are undoubtedly deals to be done.

"Supply is up and demand is down, so now, before the spring surge kicks in, could well be the perfect moment to snap up a bargain."

That point is borne out by recent figures from Hometrack revealing that sellers are accepting offers at an average of 93.5 per cent of asking price. Not great for them, but a relief for struggling first-time buyers.

- www.findaproperty.com -