I see from the huge number of comments on this subject that there still remains that essentialy British fascination with house prices. Unfortunately when this subject is endowed with so much emotion then the outlook for house prices cannot be certain. This is because the basic tenant that the correct price is arrived at by a willing seller and a willing buyer does not exist, because neither is willing because of the huge difference between the costs of building a house, which is small and the costs of the land which is huge. The thing that is most likely to bring house prices down is that more land will become available for building the kind of houses people want (not flats) This government is surely committed to this because it desperately wants at least one initiative to actualy work. Stand by for a huge amount of building land to be found, particularly as they are already bribing local authorities to do this already. The Chariman of the National Trust is right to be concerned.

Diddly Do, Liverpool,

House price increases in the UK have been way over the top. A correction is normal but I fear as big an overeaction as the rise.

Simon, Toronto, Canada

As for city bonuses they will come back and everyone wants to live near their work if you want to get into central london and you have the means the next 6 months to a year may be a chance ...countrywide who knows but where else can you live within an hour of a job that pays like the city....

Adam Hacking , London,

It would appear on reading all these comments that..... nobody has a clue what is going to happen in the housing market, as there are so many conflicting views. Most of the comments are what certain individuals "hope" is going to happen based on their own personal circumstances at present. If there was a cut on interest rates, then you would find the BTL'ers attitude change very quickly, likewise the first time buyers, as this would inspire more confidence in the market. This problem only reared its ugly head due to multiple interest rate hikes within the last 12 months.

Ricky, Belfast,

The 'housing shortage' in the UK is not huge - people who say that it is have clearly not tried renting recently. I rent a new place approx every 6 months in London, and the number of properties has consistently increased and the prices consistently dropped over the last 3 years.

Why? The market is awash with B2L, we all know this, with yields at a crushing low (especially in London). A big proportion of B2L investors are going to be forced into leaving the market over the coming 2-3 years, bringing up to 1,000,000 properties back into the sales market. That coupled with the increased building activity underway (with the built in lag effect of about 12-18 mths).

Do I hear the immigration argument to bolster demand? I have a Polish friend who lives in a VERY full house. His aim is to save money, not live in a Luxury 2 bed apartment overlooking the thames. The demand they produce relative to their numbers is low.

The market is going to fall fast between Jan-May.

A Kent, London, UK

I can't see the slow down affecting all parts of the country. In Edinburgh there is a massive shortage of one bed flats to let, people are signing contracts for them before even viewing the propertys. When a one bed / two bed flat comes on the market for sale they are gone within 3 weeks with up to 15 people registering intrest in them. Slow down in prices....I dont think so, no wonder so many investors from down south are investing up here.

Craig, Edinburgh,

Tracy Kellett, Oxon, UK. We're in a typical transition period at the moment when boom turns to bust. There will always be some people willing to buy whatever the market conditions. I was an inexperienced young solicitor in the early 1990s and around 1990-1992 the housing market then still appeared to be strong. Only with hindsight, when the big picture emerged, was it clear that this was the early stages a a major property downturn. There's good and bad news emerging from your story. The good news is that your clients who were outbid had a very lucky escape. The bad news is that the type of service you offer is likely to be in much reduced demand as the extent of the forthcoming downturn becomes clear.

Graham, Oxford, UK

Tracy Kellett. Consciously or otherwise I think that you reinforce why a major downturn in property prices is on the cards. Nearly 900k for a 2 bed flat and over 600k for a cottage. These are insane prices and we have reached these levels not through shortage of supply or any of the other pseudo justifications currently being peddled, but through pure speculation. Property is no more worth the current prices than some of the 'values' placed on dot.com shares just before the bubble burst. That there are still some people willing to pay these prices proves no more than there will always be a few idiots in any market. I expect that a few people were still buying dot.com shares as the prices collapsed - expecting the bounce back which never came. I've no idea what the price levels will be in 20 years, but countries such as Japan show that propertyprices can collapse and stay collapsed for a VERY long time. A big risk unless the money in question is no more than loose change to your clients

George, East Sussex, UK

As a professional homefinder working across the south-east I am finding a completely different scenario. This week we have tried to purchase four properties. In Marylebone a two bedroom flat at £825k went to £885k on sealed bids. A cottage on the Hants/berks borders valued at £595 was bid up to £650k .A Kent pile at £1.5m achieved £1.65m and we have had to pay full asking in both Surrey and Hampshire for two properties at the top and lower end of the market. The reality is a great lack of good property and lots of good buyers. Buy to let properties and properties with problems are likely to continue to fall but good family homes are in short supply and people are still prepared to pay for them.
My clients recognise that a potential blip in prices over the next 12 months or so is a long term irrelevance in the purchase of a 10-20 year home.Tracy BDI Homefinders

Tracy Kellett, Oxon, UK

The supply and demand issue - not really true. To be a qualified demand, there should be the need/want and the ability, although admittedly there area lot of people out there who need/want to own a home, they do not have the ability at the moment because houses are over-priced and way out of their league. Which is why prices will fall below the actual 'market correction' values. This is when people can begin to afford them, and confidence will return bringing the prices back up to the 'correction value', i.e., true value.

Nush, London, Mdx