Mixed Signals From UK Housing - Properties for Sale up, Lending Down, Reports Offshoreonline.org

LONDON, February 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The UK market is presenting an increasingly complex picture so far in 2010, with gross mortgage lending at a 10 year low, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders who represent the bulk of Building Societies. The number of new properties coming on to the market has, however, jumped by nearly 20% against the position 12 months ago with over 90,000 properties being listed in January alone, according to property portal Rightmove.co.uk. Rightmove add that whilst this figure may have been affected by new rules regarding the availability of Home Improvement Packs - sellers were not allowed to offer a property without such a pack being in place in January 2009, the overall level of confidence is high, with 62% of respondents in their buyer confidence poll claiming now was a good time to buy.

Commenting on the figures, Tim Harvey, managing director of UK regulated mortgage brokers Offshoreonline.org (http://www.Offshoreonline.org) said. "The UK housing market has produced some remarkable data over the past 12 months. Stock shortage was a common problem in 2009, with estate agents reporting fewer sellers. However, prices held up well in the most sought after areas, as demand remained, with the result that we saw headlines proclaiming pre credit crunch values being achieved."

Against this background of albeit localised solid demand, prices in the UK have started to edge upwards on a consistent basis. According to the Financial Times House Price Index, values rose by 0.7% in January, giving an annual improvement of 5.4%. Asking prices, as recorded by Rightmove.co.uk jumped by 3.2% in the same month. Tim Harvey adds, "Sellers are certainly showing signs of confidence and are coming back into the market. We have now had over 6 months of positive reports of house price growth across all of the major monitors in this market, with the Financial Times Index reporting 9 months of price growth. Inevitably, this is sending a message to sellers that prices are stabilising, so now is a good time to start to sell again after the turmoil of 2007 and early 2008."

Mortgage rates remained competitive after the Bank of England again kept UK base Rate on hold at 0.5%. This is leading to mortgage rates for expatriates buying in the UK as low as 2.99%, subject to deposit sizes.

Tim Harvey ends, "Expatriates earning in almost any foreign currency are now in a position to take advantage of the relative weakness of sterling to secure a good deal in the UK market. Despite recent volatility sterling is still weak on an historic perspective, which effectively gives buyers "winter sale" discount. With volumes of new homes now up, the choice is far wider for the buyer."

Note to Editors

Offshoreonline.ORG is a UK regulated specialist expatriate broker offering advice on UK, French, Italian, Spanish and Turkish mortgages, life insurance, pensions and savings for UK expatriates anywhere in the world. Offshoreonline.org is the website of HR Independent Financial Services Ltd, who are based in Devon.

Offshoreonline .org pioneered the concept of the discount broker in the expatriate market when it started offering no fee deals on many popular offshore savings funds in 1998.

Overall, the company aims to bring high quality UK regulated advice and service to UK expatriates worldwide in the areas of pensions, mortgages and life cover. The company is UK regulated by the FSA for investment business, giving offshore customers the reassurance that they are dealing with a reputable organisation.

For more information of UK mortgages for expatriates and overseas residents, visit http://www.offshoreonline.org or call 01364 72393

For further press information:

Jenny Duffy +44-(0)20-8333-9125

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Offshoreonline.org