Signs of property market recovery

Further voices in the property industry have backed reports that pub prices are unlikely to fall further and that the market is showing signs of recovery.

Simon Hall, a director at Fleurets and head of agency for the North, and Martin Stansmore, a negotiator at Christie + Co, have both reported increased activity in the market since January.

Hall said that there were a number of positive indicators that led him to believe the property market could pick up before the end of 2009.

"Traditionally in the new year there is increased activity, but we are seeing that maintained. Our viewing and enquiry levels are up 50 per cent on last year," he said.

"Interest rates are low, banks are beginning to lend, albeit selectively, and mortgage lenders announced for the third month that the number of mortgages granted has increased. The Bank of England is talking about the action they are going to take when they start to see recovery. That¹s a step forward from talking about how deep it is going to go. Bit by bit you are starting to see slightly more positive news pieces and announcements, actions, statistics and all of that starts creating a more confident feel.

"Six months ago we kept pushing and pushing the date [of a possible recovery] back, and thinking crikey, we have another year to 18 months like this. But slowly we are starting to pull that forward again because there are shoots of recovery. I don¹t think we are likely to get any lower in terms of value than we are now."

Stansmore also said prices were levelling out. "The general mood is that we are at the bottom or fairly close to the bottom of this drop in values," the Christies negotiator said.

"Therefore there are more enquiries, more of a willingness to do deals and quite a bit of activity from regional corporates still keen to acquire good sites. There seems to be much more of a positive forecast."

However, mortgage lending in the housing market fell by seven per cent in March after three continuous months of growth, suggesting recovery in the property market as a whole has not started quite yet.

Lack of lending to homeowners means that potential pub buyers who would have funded a purchase through the sale of a home, can find it difficult to enter the market.