LONDON: The housing market continued to lose momentum this month as homes for sale came onto the market at a faster pace than new house hunters, according to the property research group Hometrack.
Its latest monthly market outlook showed prices rose 0.2% on average in April although the annual pace of growth was the strongest for more than two years with the average house price rising 1.8% on a year ago.
Richard Donnell, Hometrack's research director, said: "There has been evidence for some months that the supply/demand balance has been changing steadily, but the buyer slowdown has been exacerbated by the announcement of a May election.
"The bounce in market confidence over 2009 was all about pent up demand feeding back into an under-supplied market. However, the fundamental issues, which have plagued the economy for some time, still remain. Rising unemployment, lack of mortgage funding, public spending cuts and the prospect of tax rises post-election, continue to act as a back-drop to a fragile and increasingly polarised housing market."
