Editor's blog

Forecasters still do not agree as to where interest rates will be over the next few years. There are extremes of an 8 per cent Bank base rate in 2012 being talked about down to zero if the economic situation becomes dire. Will either of these two scenarios happen?

It’s not helped by the Bank of England creating a new model for assessing their thinking thereby admitting they were wrong in the first place. At least that is out of the way and we can all move on but it is very unsettling and you do wonder if they really are on the right course now.

Much of it is going to depend on the banks themselves. While credit is difficult to get hold of to keep a business going and indeed expand it, there will be little economic recovery. Getting the cash moving round everyone will bring back confidence but is going to lead to a potential increase in inflation.

Cutting public spending will balance that and the Coalition Government are taking brave decisions to enable the recovery to jump to the next step without increasing inflation. The concern has to be this winter and next year whether there will be such a backlash from the unions that strikes will set the recovery back and that is the worst scenario - Country chaos.

When we take out a mortgage or loan we are all individually making a bet. So my advice is do your homework and try to understand the bigger picture. Whatever the mistakes of the past whether from the banks themselves as well as the Bank of England, you can be sure lessons have been learnt and it is in the interests of our economic masters not to destroy our prosperity a second time. Unfortunately we need them as well as their needing us.

What's your opinion? Please share your views in the comment section!

It has been claimed that the budget has had measures in it that will help people buying to let property as investments.

According to the landlord zone director a Tom Entwistle, it is said that policys reveiled by the chancellor George Osbourne were fairly kind to landlords.

The chancellor remarked by saying measures in this government is taking on ( such as ) reducing red tape and cancellation of the previous governments changes to  holiday lettings tax incentives are all landlord friendly.

How ever it is suggested that there may still be many property investors who will still have problems in getting mortage finance.

Mr Osbourne went on to claim that it will not be until the overall debt of the UK's economy starts to grow once more and that finance will become more easily available.

first-time buyers could be helped onto the property

market in the coming years as the government aims to build a number of new homes.

Housing minister Grant Shapps outlined in his speech to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that he didn't agree with his predecessor's view that falling levels of homeownership are "not such a bad thing".

Mr Shapps said an estimated 1.4 million households want to own a property but are unable to because of the expense.

He addressed those trying to get into the housing market, saying: "This government will support you, you will not be ignored."

However, in order for the plans to be successful he called on lenders to support creditworthy consumers, while borrowers will have to keep up with payments in return.

Responsible mortgage lending and responsible borrowing are "two sides of the same coin", stated the politician.

The amount of products available to help first-time buyers has increased since July 2009, according to moneysupermarket.com, with more than 3,000 mortgage deals now on the market.

Being a first-time buyer is never an easy experience and with so many options to consider it’s important to try to make the right decisions. It’s never a good time to enter the UK property market and this is certainly the case in 2010 when it’s important for first-time buyers to consider the implications of a new government. Here are a few things to consider before you start searching.

As the property market slowed down over the last two years it has been even more difficult to secure loans and to compound that the price of house deposits have skyrocketed, leaving first-time buyers stuck. To help counteract this, it is important to get advice from a professional mortgage advisor who will help find all the information you need. A mortgage advisor should help uncover information on lenders, and when choosing a lender it is important to get an "agreement in principal." This will give a good indication of the amount that can be borrowed and will help ensure buyers are taken seriously when entering the market.

Before a lender decides on the amount they wish to lend. They will first credit score the applicants and it is important for first-time buyers to understand how to achieve a decent credit score rating. Don’t go overdrawn unless your account allows you to do so and if it does then do not exceed the set limit. If you currently rent a property then ensure not to miss any payments and don’t let any cheques bounce. Being registered on the electoral role is also an important factor in determining your credit score even if you don’t plan to vote.

Increasing the stamp duty threshold to £250,000 for first time buyers, would means nine out of ten won’t pay any stamp duty.

What do you think? Add your comments below or join the discussion in the forums

Last year’s recovery in the UK property market was unexpected and not predicted by many analysts, however experts forecast that the brief surge experienced towards the end of last year may be coming to an end and could be replaced by a decade of stagnation.

After house prices fell in the beginning of 2010 and the number of approved mortgages decreased as well, many are predicting that prices will fall this year and the next. By 2012 houses might only cost approximately 3% more than today and this indicates that there could be a number of years of idling prices.

It has been argued that a large proportion of the increase in prices late last year was concentrated in the South of England and in particular around London. Overseas buyers have been taking advantage of cheap property and stimulated a mini recovery in those areas. However, areas of Northern England saw no increase in prices causing some of the figures to be misleading.

Since the crash in 2007, a number of mortgage holders have been left in deep trouble and it is estimated that over 1 million houses are experiencing negative equity. Similarly, a further 1 million people are currently unable to afford buying a property because they do not have the 15% of equity required to enter a transaction in the current tough mortgage market.

It is not surprising that many are forecasting the market to slow down again after the brief recovery because firstly it was not expected and undoubtedly the housing market will take a long time to recover after the worst recession to hit the UK since World War II. Other factors are also playing some havoc with the market during 2010 and it is yet to be seen how they will impact prices. Spring is traditionally a period when most activity takes place on the property market but the outcome of the General Election and policy announcements could affect this in many ways.