A leading mortgage broker has suggested that speculative buyers could potentially pick up a bargain while house prices are low.
Consumers can take advantage of the housing market downturn to "pick up bargains", according to one leading mortgage broker.
House prices have fallen dramatically since the onset of the credit crunch, with mortgage availability drying up as a consequence of the resulting banking meltdown. The latest Halifax and Nationwide figures showed the prices fell again during April, although other reports suggest mortgage availability is improving.
Andy Pratt, chief operating officer at Alexander Hall, suggested that a recovery in the mortgage industry will not be certain until "virtually everybody is calling the bottom of the market in terms of house prices, and then probably wait another three months".
However, he explained that savvy investors could take advantage of the house price collapse - assuming they have sufficient equity to apply for the required mortgage. "As long as people continue to dip their toe and see what's out there, they will probably pick up bargains if they are actively looking now," he said.
But Mr Pratt acknowledged that this is unlikely to be the situation for most consumers. "The majority of people are going to wait for three, six or nine months until they feel absolutely safe that house prices are not going to fall dramatically again," he concluded.
