Estate agents call for measures to help buyers Published: 02/07/2008

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) is urging the government to do more to help consumers buy property.

Commenting on new figures from Nationwide showing that property price falls are slowing, the association's president Chris Brown said more measures were needed to make buying cheaper.

In particular, he is calling for stamp duty relief for first-time buyers, as well as mortgage subsidies for owners of one home.

"It is encouraging to see that the slowdown in house prices that Nationwide has reported for June has fallen to 0.9 per cent, which is a dramatic decline from the figures reported by the company last month," Mr Brown said.

"The market appears to be stabilising, which should help begin to restore confidence in the marketplace."

After several months of property price corrections, many houses for sale are now notably cheaper than at the market peak in August through October last year.

However, access to finance is restricted due to bank liquidity concerns, despite measures in the pipeline to encourage lenders to offer more accessible deals.

"We really want to see action from the government to ease pressure and give consumers hope for the future," the NAEA president concluded.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is promoting a similar agenda, proposing an overhaul of the stamp duty system to make it cheaper for those buying property for less than £1 million.

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