Housing market 'improving'

The UK housing market has started to stabilise over the past few months, though the rising unemployment rate across the country is likely to hamper its growth for some time yet.

That is according to housebuilder Bovis, which has reported that it has see marked improvements in the residential property sector over the first six months of 2009.

This is in spite of the fact that the average price of one of its homes stood at £160,400 at the end of June 2009 compared to the figure of £196,700 recorded in the same point of 2008.

Commenting on the immediate prospects of the market, Bovis noted that further stabilisation is likely, though the rising level of unemployment being seen across the UK means that ’relatively low levels of activity’ are to be expected for the foreseeable future.

The company added: ’Whilst this period of relative improvement has been welcomed, the group remains cautious in its expectations on pricing in the short term, given the continuing challenges seen both in terms of mortgage availability and in terms of the approach taken by surveyors in arriving at mortgage valuations.’

Meanwhile, the British Bankers Association (BBA) has reported that the number of mortgage approved across the UK reached a 17 month-high in June.
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