Householders in a hurry to sell before the election 'decimates the property market'

Published 13th Apr 2010

Homeowners are rushing to sell their properties before the election, a report will reveal today.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said the 'dash for cash' was being fuelled by the extreme levels of 'uncertainty' about the future.

People fear that - whoever wins on May 6 - the impact on the housing market could be bleak.

They are worried about the lethal mixture of massive job cuts, particularly in the public sector, rising interest rates and tax hikes crippling workers' ability to buy.

The influential report, published today, shows the number of homeowners putting up 'For Sale' signs has shot to its highest level for nearly three years.

Some estate agents said they were approaching record levels, with an almost unprecedented number of homeowners looking for a buyer.

Ian Perry, a housing expert from RICS, said: 'With the General Election approaching and uncertainty growing over the political direction of the country, many vendors who were previously inclined to sit on the sidelines now appear eager to put their properties on the market.'

He warned the boom in homes for sale may trigger some 'modest price falls', although regions such as London, the South East and Scotland will be protected.

But the worry for homeowners is that they will not find a buyer. The number of homes estate agents are selling every month has fallen, down nearly 3 per cent to 17.1 per month per estate agency.

Peter Fearn, from Keats Fearn, in Farnham, Surrey, said: 'Last-minute cancellations by buyers suggest worries about the election and impact on the market of a hung parliament.'

Property website Rightmove said 105,000 new properties were advertised for sale on its website in March, the biggest influx for 18 months.

David Pank, a director of Manning Stainton, based in Horsforth, near Leeds, said many homeowners simply cannot wait any longer.

He said: 'Properties are being listed at a rate not seen since 1997.

Some of our new sellers are two- earner families who have turned into one-earner families because one of them has lost their job.

'They are nervous about interest rates going up.'

The Bank of England cut the base rate to 0.5 per cent, the lowest in history, but rates are predicted to rise next year.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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