Am I alone in my amazement?

After weeks of battering - credit crunch, mortgage withdrawals, house prices, stock market collapses etc...

The media is giving very light coverage to the Halifax's reported 2.5% price reduction.

This is unheard of, surely?

Is the media really rather bored of house prices up/ house prices down argument and looking to move on?

If so, this is an important moment.

Here is what my little survey just confirmed

http: / /news .bbc .co .uk/ - no coverage of UK house prices - you have to look to business pages to get a mention of it

http: / /www .timesonline .co .uk /tol /news/ - no coverage of UK house prices - again, only on the 'business' pages

http: / /www .ft .com /home /uk - 2nd top story

So, this means that house prices are of more interest to economist and bankers and business men than the man/ woman in the street?

In otherwords, the FT sees house prices as a key economic indicator that will steer the BoE's monetary committee tomorrow and currency rates and forecasts of economic growth?

But, mainland UK is just bored of the whole topic?

Hmmmm

And, if people really are bored - then doesn't that create an opportunity for us bores who just like to steadily invest?

I wonder - is this the turning point? Perhaps it really is?

Cheers
Neil

Hi Neil

Funnily enough I picked up the Times report on Google News as the first business story. The real test comes tomorrow. What odds will you give about it not appearing on the front page of the Mail or the Express?!
Huw

It was on the front page of every early evening London paper!

Hi Huw and James

Thanks for the report on the London papers James.

Huw - there is no sign of this news on the Daily Mail website today http: / /www .dailymail .co .uk /pages /live /news /thenews .html?in _page _id=1770

Nor the Daily 'world's greatest newspaper' Express http: / /www .express .co .uk /home

The main reports are how banks are squeezing customers (nasty old banks!) and of course, Diana and stuff...

The FT has no mention today - but it was a big story yesterday - but what the FT is doing now is repeating the story 'we've hit the bottom'.

Looking at the FT headlines today we've got

"The beginning of the end of the crisis"

"There is an awful lot of money sitting on the sidelines"

"Credit Crunch cost a Trillion $US"

"Company share buy backs are over - taking away a key driver of share price strength"

Not much on houses - but promises of those fabled 'green shoots of recovery' as the Norman Lamont once infamously predicted!

Any one else got any newspaper reportings of the Halifax figure?

Cheers
Neil

The Daily Express is utter drivel .... I dont think they have ever printed a negative statement on house prices .... not surprising considering who it is owned by, - clear case of vested interests.

Every copy of the Daily Express should be burned in my view - encouraging people to buy when they should be getting sound investment advice.

The house price fall was on the Front page of the FT yesterday ...... so i dont see how you can say there was a lack of reporting. I think most of the general population has a glance at the FT most days now due to the economic environment- even if they dont buy it - opting for the Sun or the Sport instead.

We have another 12 months of 1-2% monthly falls before the end is in sight.

Thanks Richard - deep in my archives I have a front page from an old copy of the Daily Express which states 'House Prices to Fall' - or something similar - from 2003 - so they kind of done the story to death!

re: FT - yes, this is my point - it is front page news in financial newpapers - one would also argue that the majority of the London evening paper readers are also linked to finance - but that this is not of interest to general public.

Therefore, house prices are relevant to those who are trying to figure out markets - and see house prices as a key indicator - but that is different from what the public are interested in.

It is a bit like the story of the shoe shine boy who told Mr J P Morgan (I think?) that he was buying shares as they just had to keep going up.

The date, 1929 - before the October crash.

So, the fact that Joe Public is not interested in property any more - is, I think a good thing. But it will still take a while for the frothy prices to settle before it is worth going back into the UK market.

But my main point is that I think we've seen the worse - financially, at least.

But I am still not advocating buying UK property - as I don't think you'll see above inflation price rises for the next 3 years.

Cheers
Neil

Hi

I think one of THE most significant events in the last few months with regard to the UK housing market is the new offer by HSBC to match any current fixed rates for borrowers coming off deals with other banks.

For the UK property market to start regaining momentum, lending has to return to normal competitive levels - not crazy lending to anyone, those days are gone - but just normal competition. Up to now, we've seen some over-reaction and a general terror to lend.

So, is HSBC signalling that it really is time to get back into the market and start winning some business, rather than turning it away?

They're going to be swamped with business, that's for sure. I wonder if they'll have to withdraw because of being unable to handle the volumes, like their subsid, First Direct! I rather think that's unlikely!

Now, perhaps, the First Direct withdrawal from the market for new customers makes more sense - or am I being too cynical?

Well spotted Robin - there has to be a certain amount of collusion in the market at the moment - afterall, the market isn't working properly and intervention is accepted - so I think you are right!

N

Neil

Well, it is the same company, after all! ;)

But I think the HSBC move is very significant.

What will be REALLY significant, though, is if we see other lenders stepping up to the plate to try and prevent HSBC vacuuming up all this business - 1.9 million borrowers coming off fixed rates, I understand! That really would mean the landscape has shifted.

Watch this space...


cheers

yes, i also read the HSBC story as potentially very positive, and i hope they will be rewarded for their daring. but i despair of getting any reasonable reporting from the UK non-financial press. e.g. London's Evening Standard: yesterday's banner headline was halifax's 2.5% price decline, yet nowhere on the page did they mention that the halifax survey registered a 1.5% *increase* for london.

if any brit makes a well-judged financial decision it is despite mainstream press 'information', in my opinion.