Take housing figures with a "pinch of salt" - buy to let mortgages

03 November 2008

An industry insider has cautioned people involved in the property business to take the recent improvement in the market with a "pinch of salt".

Selwyn Lim, the director of online resource Mouseprice, has warned that despite some positive figures being released, it remains to be seen what will happen in the property sector.

He explained that a slight increase in sales could have been caused by the government's scrapping of stamp duty for houses of £175,000 and under.

Many were waiting for this decision to be announced before buying a home, he said, adding that despite the government's move, there is still a "lot of uncertainty" in the market.

This could be significant for investors with buy to let mortgages, as people may be looking to rent until the market stabilises.

Mr Lim concluded by saying: "It remains to be seen what will happen."

A recent report from Hometrack found that there was a 5.4 per cent increase in property sales in October, compared to September.