Property market sprouts some green shoots

Confidence in the property market seems to be growing as more people look for mortgages.

More people are searching for mortgages to purchase a property than those looking to remortgage existing properties according to figures from moneysupermarket.com.

The price comparison site monitors user search behaviour and has seen a 20% rise in the number of searches for house purchase mortgages since January.

In the same period, searches for remortgages fell by a third, which indicates a shift in sentiment as confidence in the property market grows.

Although house buyers seem to be more confident about the prospects for house prices, moneysupermarket.com does sound a warning about future interest rises.

The huge borrowing levels by the Government are bound to drive interest rates higher in the months to come and this should be factored into buyers mortgage affordability calculations.

Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield, mortgage spokesperson at moneysupermarket.com said; “Our figures provide fresh evidence that appetite to buy a house is coming back into the market. Perhaps the public is becoming convinced that prices have stabilised.”

“First time buyers who have saved a deposit and home owners looking to step up the housing ladder may therefore be looking to take advantage of the current low price environment with a view that prices cannot fall any further.

“We have seen a steady decline during 2009 in the number of people looking to remortgage their existing property however August reached a new height where consumers looking to purchase have exceeded those looking to remortgage.”