| Sometimes it takes the interaction of powerful forces for things just to stand still. So it is with Britain’s housing market, which lenders expect to remain characterised this year by low levels of transactions and stable prices. But, quietly, the property market is being transformed.
The forces bearing down on housing are obvious enough. Home sales have fallen sharply since the start of the financial crisis, to around half their 2007 levels. That reflects greater conservatism on the part of lenders—“We don’t assume that home prices will go up, a mistake everyone made in the past,” says one—and of borrowers worried by an uncertain economic outlook at home and endless euro-crisis headlines..............................................Full Article: Source
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