More than most European countries, the state of the property market in the U.K. is a major indicator of the state of the nation’s finances.

And when reports in the media talk of first-time buyers coming back, and increased mortgage applications, you can almost feel the country willing it to be the signs of those long searched for green shoots of recovery.

But some of the heavyweight media are warning not to reach too much into these initial hopeful signs.

And rather than a hope that prices have actually bottomed out, the ‘recovery’ is actually down to a shortage of houses in key locations. Lucky sellers who have the right property in the right location, once again have the upper hand. Certain estate agents have reported that the number of visits to sell a house has dramatically dropped in a number of select locations.

And the caution from saying that bricks and mortar have now recovered, is highlighted by a recent report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors which states that new instructions have dropped by around 30%. Ironically, this might be causing the effect of property shortages in the sought-after locations. The Royal Institute points to the fact that sellers are still disappointed about the new level of prices and annoyed that they have to complete a home information pack (which costs them money) before they can dip their toe in the market.

Property experts still believe that the floor of the market has yet to be reached and that an overall drop of some 25% is likely to be reached.

Guest Article by Neil Camp