17 Quotes by Martin Ellis

Further above inflation rises in fuel and council tax bills are expected to drive up further the costs of owning and running a home this year. Council tax and utility bills will overtake mortgage payments as the largest cost for homeowners this year.

The annual percentage increase in house prices nationally in 2005 was the smallest for 10 years.

We expect this trend to continue during 2006 as house prices rise at a slower pace than earnings, therefore making it a little easier for first-time buyers to enter the market.

Council tax bills are growing significantly faster than inflation.

The rise in prices in the first three months of 2006 was...slower than the gains recorded in the two final quarters of 2005.

These falls need to be viewed in the context of the substantial price rises recorded in these parts of the country during the last few years.

Despite this fall, the housing market remains underpinned by a combination of economic expansion, historically low interest rates and high employment.

The buoyancy of both the housing and mortgage markets indicates that the marked slowdown in the world economy and the recession in the UK manufacturing sector have so far had little adverse impact on consumer sentiment.

The weakening labor market, the continuing high level of house prices in relation to earnings and pressure on householders' finances from the recent hikes in utility and council tax bills are expected to curb demand in the coming months, therefore preventing a sustained acceleration in house price inflation.