Stark reality of housing market decline

Veda has released mortgage enquiry statistics from its database that show a 27% decrease on housing loan applications from 2006 to 2007.

Data from January this year points to a 14% decrease on 2007, firm evidence that the economic slowdown is biting hard on the property market.

Figures also showed the largest decline in mortgage applications was from the 30-40 year age group, with a drop of 26%.

Veda director John Roberts says, “27% is a sharp year-on-year drop, and given the cyclical trends we’ve seen from 2000 through to 2008, it’s expected we’ll see a similar drop-off in 2008, one which is likely to be exacerbated by the predicted slowdown of the economy.