Due to the recent falls in house prices, now can be a very good time to move up the property ladder.

The Financial Times has reported that according to Propertyfinder.com those looking to make the jump from a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom home now have to find an extra £31,000, while a year ago they would have needed £41,500. This is because the average price of a two-bedroom property has fallen 12 per cent in the past year to £160,600, while the value of a typical one-bedroom home has fallen 8 per cent to £129,874.

When prices are at their peak, all areas of the market tend to move up at the same pace. But in a falling market, certain areas, streets or buildings hold their own better than others.

The FT reports estate agents believe homeowners are increasingly willing to take a hit on the sale price of their own property as they are able to secure greater discounts further up the chain. Some people are even willing to sell their property for less than they bought it for two years ago, as the loss is irrelevant if the saving on their new purchase is bigger.

Homeowners considering a move up the ladder are advised to find the property they want to buy, and see what discount they can achieve, before putting their own house on the market

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 8:23 am and is filed under house sales, property market general, property prices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.