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Agents are positive despite price drop
The average price of a home in Northamptonshire fell for the third month in a row, according to new Land Registry figures.
In May the average cost of a county home fell from 139,660 to 138,962, a monthly change of 0.5 per cent.
In June the average price paid went down again by 0.2 per cent, to 138,690, and in July it fell by 0.2 per cent to 138,450.
James Potts from Simpson and Partners in Kettering said contrary to the negative picture painted by the figures, the firm had enjoyed its best month of the year last month in terms of the number of houses sold.
Mr Potts said: "I think people are getting a bit tired of this 'it's going up, it's going down' talk and people are thinking 'we want a home', regardless of what happens in the next few months.
"I think they have been going on about a double dip recession for so long and all this speculation about the market and house prices that I think people are turning a blind eye to it now."
Martin Pendered from Martin Pendered & Co in Wellingborough said he would never notice rises and falls in average house prices of figures like 0.2 per cent in his day to day work.
Mr Pendered said: "In Wellingborough we didn't generally see much in terms of price increases in the last 12 months.
"I thought our prices and my own sales this year remained relatively static."
Mr Pendered said he had not seen anything to make him think the country was at risk of falling into a double dip recession.
He said: "I think the double dip recession is a figment of an economist's imagination. I don't see any reason why we should expect to see that happen.
"I think this talk about a double dip recession is really quite unnecessary.
"I would expect reasonably steady results coming in, especially for the property market – there have been ups and downs but the general trend will be upwards, albeit relatively slowly.
"It will take a long time but eventually we should look back and see that there has been a steady improvement. It's always difficult at the time to see what is happening.
"We are as optimistic as you would expect us to be – I feel the right signs are coming through."
Last month the Evening Telegraph reported that local estate agents backed findings of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which said eight per cent more of its members reported a fall than a rise in property prices in July – the first time the survey indicated a fall since July 2009.
Average county house prices
September 2009 – average price up 1.1 per cent to 130,879
October 2009 – average price up by 1.4 per cent to 132,661
November 2009 – average price up by 1 per cent to 134,015
December 2009 – average price up 0.9 per cent to 135,214
January 2010 – average price up by 0.7 per cent to 136,195
February 2010 – average price up by 0.9 per cent to 137,400
March 2010 – average price up by 0.6 per cent to 138,242
April 2010 – average price up by 1 per cent to 139,660
May 2010 – average price down 0.5 per cent to 138,962
June 2010 – average price down 0.2 per cent to 138,690
July 2010 – average price down 0.2 per cent to 138,450
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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