Commercial Property Market Recovery Predicted
Monday December 29th 2008
The commercial and domestic property markets could bottom out and begin to recover in a "make or break" 2009.
This is the main finding of new analysis from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).
The firm forecasts rising prices, particularly pronounced in some areas, as the effects of Bank of England interest rate cuts filter through to the market.
However, NAEA chief executive Peter Bolton King warned that this improvement would only occur if the rate cuts were passed on by the UK's mortgage lenders.
Over the past year, commercial property has been hit hard by the credit crunch, with prices falling by as much as 25 per cent.
House prices have dropped by around 15 per cent in the past 12 months, too.
Mr Bolton King commented: "It is… clear that parts of the market are perhaps beginning to bottom out, and it seems possible to me that once the recovery begins, we could see a bounce as pronounced as the fall.
"Some people are beginning to cotton on to this - which is why our members are starting to see enquiries increase again, as people begin to believe they can find a bargain."