Price is right for property purchase

Over half of people (54%) believe now is a good time to buy property in the UK, a new survey has revealed.

The figure has grown considerably since June last year when just 27% thought the time was right to purchase, and is a further improvement on the 46% who thought so in the last Building Societies Association (BSA) Property Tracker survey conducted in December.

Blocking the path of many people's property purchase dreams, however, is the ongoing lack of job security, difficulties in accessing large enough mortgages and the problem of raising a deposit.

People also expect property prices to fall by a further 6% over the next year. However, just under a third of those surveyed said this would stop them buying at the moment.

"With the Nationwide showing that property prices fell by more than 17% over the last year, coupled with lower interest rates, people are recognising that there are bargains to be found and they are increasingly interested in buying," said Paul Broadhead, BSA head of mortgage policy.

"However, it is also clear from the survey that it is the declining economic situation and perceived problems securing a mortgage that are viewed as preventing this desire to buy from being realised. Until economic confidence improves, it is hard to see the feel-good factor returning to the housing market."