The Nationwide Building Society house price index showed a fall in property prices of 2.5 percent in May, making them almost 4.5 percent lower than this time last year.
Despite the falling numbers, when compared with two years ago house prices are still higher now than they were then. This reflects the dramatic price rises the country has experienced and may make existing property owners feel a little better since they can see that the value of their home is still very strong.
A Nationwide Building Society spokeswoman supported this view, feeling that the price reductions were of limited concern to home owners in the short term. As she pointed out it is only those who bought at the very peak of the prices who may feel a little concerned at the moment, though even then property in the medium to long term has always proved to be a good investment.
After a review by the Alliance and Leicester they have found that over three quarters of mortgage brokers see their role as more advisory than ever before, feeling also that this will become even more so for the rest of the year.
The concensus of opinion from the brokers is that a lack of confidence in the housing market is the main reason for customers seeking advice. Alliance and Leicester mortgage customers are grateful for brokers advice on this and also views on the economy generally, the second key area where brokers are finding requesting for information and advice.
The director of Alliance and Leicester mortgages explained that choosing the right mortgage for the economic conditions is vitally important now so being able to ask the advice of experts is a great benefit for customers.
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Good news for those seeking a mortgage comes from the Abbey National, where fees on their flexible mortgage products will be GBP1,000 lower than they were at just GBP1,499.
The Abbey National flexible mortgage deals allow customers to offset their savings against their mortgage, pay more than is required and also take holidays from paying for periods of time. The benefits of such mortgages are supreme flexibility and the chance to clear a mortgage in a much shorter time than a regular one, saving many thousands of pounds in the process by paying less interest.
Although the flexible mortgage deals offered by the Abbey are very good ones there are question marks over how many people are actually buying property at the moment, so there may be a bigger market for them with existing homeowners who are coming off a fixed rate deal.