UK Property Predictions 2008 - What is going to Happen in the UK market?

Giving accurate uk property predictions is never straight forward, and in the current property market conditions things are even more difficult to predict.

However, this web page endeavours to cut to the heart of what is potentially going to happen in the UK property market. Therefore, equipping you with tools to deal with anything that is thrown at you in 2008.

What Happened in 2007?

We could not give our UK property predictions for 2008 without first making an assessment of what happened in 2007 and also in the preceding years.

The debacle of what happened in the United States with the subprime mortgage crisis then in the UK at Northern Rock in 2007 has sent a shock wave through the banking World. This in turn has had a knock on effect on any business that relies on borrowing money to function; hence, as well as the banks, many property investors have become nervous and are considering ways to mitigate their risks.

There maybe an impending squeeze on things like 100% mortgages and self-assessment mortgages. In fact, we are already seeing many big players in the credit card market such as "Egg" take steps to reduce the risk of bad credit by stopping the credit cards of those people it deems as being the biggest risk.

Are We Heading for a Recession?

When giving uk property predictions it may help, if we look back to the property "crash" of the 1990's. What were the conditions surrounding and leading up to the crash at that time? Two of the man factors that influenced the crash of the time are:

• Interest rates peaked at almost 15%
• Unemployment was rising sharply

Thankfully we are no where near either of these scenrios at the moment. So the chances of having a dramatic price drop are probably slim in comparision.

That said, we probably won't see the double digit price rises we have become accustomed to in recent years.

Capital Growth

The likelihood is that we will see a continuation of what has been seen over the last few months, which is a much flatter growth in house prices than we have been used to in the preceding years.

However, in locations that are undervalued (and yes there are still some) property values should still increase at a decent rate. Giving property owners a good capital return on their investment.

The old rules still apply. You should look for areas that are being regenerated and a lot of government and private sector money being poured into them. They should also be easily commutable to the nearest Towns or big cities.

If you are relying on capital growth in 2008, you are potentially going to have to tread more carefully than you have done for a few years. Consider buying distressed property cheaply and doing it up and make sure that you have your exit strategy worked out well in advance.

According to recent figures from the Nationwide, London continues to out perform the rest of England and Scotland continues to out perform the rest of the UK. So both London or Scotland might hold safer options than most of the rest of the UK for short term capital growth.

The Facts

While many people making UK property predications are predicting that there will either be a zero % rise or we may even see house prices move in a negative direction - nobody really knows what is going to happen.

Many so called experts are paid to make outlandish UK property predictions that will draw you in with their headline. However, if you track what these same experts said just a few months before you will see that what they are saying now is often contradictory to what they said then.

So take heart in one of the basic laws of supply and demand. The Demand for housing is far outstripping what can currently be supplied and the government is trying to address this issue, but are woefully struggling, especially with the influx of people from abroad coming to live and work in the UK in the last few years.

If demand is high but supply is low - prices will normally continue to rise. This is a general rule, but one that holds true providing other factors such as affordability is in place.

And despite what the journalist sometimes say, the UK economy is in a reasonably healthy state.

Light at The End of The Tunnel

When talking about UK property predictions, the bottom line is always going to be the same. Buy the property for the right price, in the right location and do the right due diligence and 99.9% of the time you will be onto a winner.

In conclusion, to our UK property predictions for 2008, the facts are that 2008 promises to be a volatile year for property investors. Many will fall by the way side and will be looking to cash in their portfolio.

To stop yourself being one of them, more than ever, you need to scrutinise every property deal that comes your way. Don't rely on capital appreciation, or if you do, be prepared to sit on the property for a few years and ride out any storm.

Property is still a very safe investment. However, in the current market you may just need to have a better property education to be successful at it.

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