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FOOL'S EYE VIEW
House Prices On A Knife-Edge

By The Motley Fool Staff
August 28, 2003

Here at the Fool, we keep a beady eye on how many people read each article. Yes, be very afraid -- we are watching you! The one topic that is perennially popular (surprise, surprise) is the housing market. So, every few months, we like to round up a selection of our articles on all things property, just in case you missed them first time around.

The last few months have seen more than their fair share of housing news. The recent base rate cut saw a few five-year fixed-rate mortgages being offered at under 4%. These bargains didn't last long though, and five-year Best Buys have climbed back up to around 4.5%.

House prices have also proved to be more robust than expected. The increase in prices shown in the latest Land Registry figures surprised many people. Recent weeks have seen an increase in the number of first-time buyers, and mortgage arrears and repossessions have tumbled as well.

But what's the future for the property market? In a recent poll, Foolish readers were divided equally in believing house prices will go up, down and remain unchanged over the next twelve months. House prices look to be on a knife-edge but, whatever happens to the property market, they look set to remain the nation's favourite topic of discussion for a while longer.

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> Get a better mortgage in the Fool's mortgage centre, and find out all about the newest type of mortgage in our Offset mortgage guide.