People worried by drops in house prices are putting off their plans to move, HSBC has revealed.
The ongoing credit crunch has caused many homeowners to become too nervous to consider entering the property market, HSBC confirmed today.
According to the bank, the ongoing financial crisis has sparked a matching "confidence crunch" - as mortgage availability remains constrained and house prices continue to fall.
This has led to a significant number of people - around one in ten of all homeowners - who are planning to move, decide to wait for another six months or so in the hope that market conditions will improve. Of this group, 37 percent said they most feared falling house prices, while 36 percent were worried that rising costs of living would stymie their purchase.
Martijn van der Heijden, HSBC's UK head of mortgages said: "Many buyers are taking a wait and see attitude, naturally some feel uncomfortable buying a home which may be worth less in six month's time."
He added: "Almost one in four buyers think they might struggle to get a mortgage, however just one in 50 has actually given up on their purchase due to failing to find a suitable loan. Anyone keen to buy a home still has an extensive range of mortgage options."
Figures from lenders suggest that current mortgage approvals rates are running at less than half their levels a year ago. Moreover, house price surveys from Nationwide and Halifax show that annual loss of property value stands at over eight percent.
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