Russell Jervis, Managing Director of haart estate agents comments on Nationwide's January house price data:
"Data from across our network confirms that there's a more positive attitude in the housing market at the moment. Interest rate rises and high prices caused a lot of pent-up frustration for homebuyers during last year, but successive price falls during the second half of 2004 mean that there are now some very attractively priced properties out there.
"The homebuyer's frustration has been replaced by a more confident attitude which we've seen reflected in a twelve-fold increase in the number of buyers registering with haart branches across the country in the first few weeks of January. Applicant levels are now at their highest point since July 2004. We remain confident in our prediction of a more stable market during 2005 with
house prices rising by around 2% during the year."
