Money News
1st August 2008
Gloomy property surveys 'tell only half the story'
Areas which have defied the downturn in the property market prove that reports of a slump are wide of the mark, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).
Recently Nationwide announced it detected an 8.1 per cent fall in house prices during July.
However, evidence that some areas are bucking the trend has been provided by Land Registry figures that shows that average property prices in Windsor & Maidenhead were up five per cent over the last year while West Sussex saw increases of 4.1 per cent.
Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, said that these areas underline that that reports of the gloom in the sector tell only part of the story.
He explained: "We are already aware from our own members that house prices are being affected differently throughout the country so to see that the report showed an aggregate drop in house price comes as no surprise.
"However, there is a real need to keep this in perspective. The picture is mixed across the country and some areas will be more affected than others, so people really need to look to their local markets to get a true picture."
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