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2008 was a rollercoaster of a year for the UK’s property market. SecureASale Director Tim Jackson looks back on the ups and downs of London’s housing sector over the past yearâ?¦2008 started slowly with the hangover for the manic record market of â??07. By the end of 2008, the UK was in the worst housing slump since the 1930s. There are three main factors that have contributed to this heady downward spiral.1 / Cyclical economic slowdownAfter 15 years of non-stop growth, the UK economy had overheated and house price inflation had far-outpaced rises in average earnings. The average home was costing 7 times average earnings, which was unsustainable. A policy of low interest rates had led to the availability of cheap credit and properties had seemed affordable despite the ever-increasing prices. However, nervous of inflation running rampant, the Bank of England MPC gradually raised interest rates up to 5.75% in July 2007. This hit highly-leveraged borrowers hard, especially those on interest only mortgages and had the desired effect of substantially cooling the housing market. 2 / Worldwide banking crisisWhen Northern Rock collapsed in the summer of 2007, it wasnâ??t a one-off event but was linked to the fallout from the sub-prime market both here and in the United States. Banks worldwide had gambled by lending to un-creditworthy customers who were left unable to afford their loans and therefore defaulted on them, often literally handing back their keys to the lender. As Northern Rock had grown its business by taking on risky debt, it soon found itself unable to secure funding to operate and the government had no choice but to bail it out. The banks then all took note of this and substantially tightened their lending criteria. In a matter of weeks, the days of 100% mortgages were gone and loan to value ratios were cut dramatically.3 / Lending haltThis alone would be enough to cause a housing crash, but on top of this the banks stopped lending to each- other almost completely. This credit crunch affected the entire economy from small businesses to the largest industrials and we are now seeing the rising unemployment and reduced spending that a shrinking economy causes.The result of this unhappy alliance of bleak news is that buyers couldnâ??t borrow money to fund their moves, vendors couldnâ??t afford to take lower offers on their homes as that often dragged them into negative equity and thousands of builders, estate agents and mortgage advisors went bust as business dried up.The lettings market has been hit too as thousands of homeowners, unable to Sell House Quickly but needing to move have found themselves having to let their properties out, in effect becoming reluctant landlords and massively increasing supply. The result of this is that cash for houses have been dragged down in the rental sector and many buy to let investors are finding that their rents no longer cover their costs and their investments are repossessed by the bank, further damaging the market.Is there a way out of this crisis?The only route back to stability is for the banks to begin normal lending again both to each other and to homebuyers. Without this the market is in for an even worse 2009. Only time will tell.

As property prices fall, those will ready cash available could make themselves a fortune in the long-run by investing in property now. LONDON, UK- London property specialists at SecureASale, the capitalâ??s premier â??sell my houseâ?? and quick sale experts, are issuing some exciting investment advice.SecureASale director, Tim Jackson has announced that the best investments available in the current climate are to be found within the London property market. He issued the following statement:”With interest rates falling to 0.5% and property prices still falling, snapping up a good quality buy to let in London can easily return 7-8% per annum â?? 14-16 times the Bank of England interest rate. It is a tangible investment and unlike what we have seen with the banks, you know where your money is invested with property. Time and time again, the property market has proved its ability to bounce back even stronger and in the future people looking to sell property will receive the dividends.Obviously, at times like these people are asking â??OK, but how can I sell my house quickly to raise the capital for such a venture?â?? This is where quick sale experts such as Tim Jackson and SecureASale.Very high yields, like weâ??re seeing now are normally a sign of an undervalued market, so there is scope for optimism that we have reached the bottom of the housing market.”However, Jackson has also issued a stark warning to potential investors. As incomes fall and people lose their jobs in the recession, rent costs are likely to fall as well, as is the chance of a quick sale or obtaining the maximum revenue when selling a house. Jackson adds, “We are not going to see a new bubble forming any time soon and we may not be out of the woods yet in terms of negative capital returns.”There is always a point during a property boom where people turn to each other and say, â??If only Iâ??d bought back in Year X I could have made a fortune. The quick sale property experts agree that now could be that time.