SmartNewHomes.com predicts that in 2009 house prices will fall by a further -5%; growth will return to single figures in 2010; the number of new home starts will fall to below 90,000 in 2009; interest rates will continue to fall and remain low throughout 2009; the Government’s green agenda will suffer and lastly that cash-rich investors will be big winners in 2009.

David Bexon, managing director of SmartNewHomes.com, said: “The housing market landscape is constantly shifting. The daily twists and turns of the current climate are making it exceptionally hard to call how things will progress over the next twelve months. Very few people foresaw the turmoil the market has experienced in 2008, the repercussions of which are expected to resonate for a long time to come.

“While I predict some light at the end of the tunnel in 2009, any kind of recovery for the market will be modest at best, and depends heavily on the banks’ willingness to open up the mortgage market – increasing availability and passing on interest rate cuts. I believe Government pressure will eventually work to improve lending levels and stimulate the market as a whole, although I do not think we will see much of an improvement until the latter part of next year.”