Prices of residential property increased by 0.4% in November and are 1.6% higher than a year ago, according to figures published by the Nationwide. This price increase is equal to that of October's and the average price of a home is now £165,798.

Although this is good news experts don't think it signals a sudden recovery in the housing market, especially as the UK economy is expected to remain largely flat next year. They are predicting house price growth will be mainly static over the next year, due to subdued demand and the number of housing transactions and mortgage approvals being well below the long-term average.

There are also concerns over the number of job losses during the last quarter. Almost 200,000 people lost their jobs in the 3 months ending September, taking us back to scenes not seen since the depths of the financial crisis. Wage growth is also just 1.7%, which is less than half the current rate of inflation.

The Nationwide's index of consumer confidence is reflecting these factors as it reached an all-time low in October.

Experts think it's down to the housing industry, the government and mortgage lenders to help boost the housing sector. The recently introduced Mortgage Indemnity Scheme, which is designed to help first-time buyers is seen as being a hopeful sign.

However current building rates still remain well below what is necessary to meet housing demand, as less than half the numbers of new homes have been completed in England this year to meet this demand. Even before the recession, building rates were not sufficient to address the problem.

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Will we ever see this in America? Recently, walking down a street in London we saw this scene - the yellow cables are electricity cables for re-charging your electric car or bike. Not sure if there is some payment required or if this is done to encourage a greener way of travel, but we both found it very interesting. Got to wondering if we would ever see this in Philadelphia or any other major American city or its suburbs? Not sure of the distance this little car can go, but typical of size for most London cars.

I know there are some condos recenlty built by Dranoff Properties that include parking slots with the ability to re-charge your car here in Philadelphia. What is happening in your city?

A new report from HSBC has pointed out that up to 360,000 of 2007's first time buyers could be trapped in their homes due to falling property prices. It is estimated prices of their homes could have fallen by up to 7%, eroding much of the equity. Those who haven't managed to save could find it impossible to move, as even though capital repayments would have paid off some of the mortgage, the equity would be almost the same as when they first started.

Research shows that most second time buyers need £27,000 to cover the cost of selling their home. Costs include a 10% minimum deposit and stamp duty, which could be as much as 3% for a home in the south of England.

In the past first-time buyers could always rely on rising home prices to fund their next step up the property ladder, but nowadays they need to plan to pay down their mortgage or to save in order to fund their next move. One way they can do it is to overpay on their mortgage, increasing the equity and amount of deposit available for a bigger home.

First-time buyers in Northern Ireland are worst off, as property prices have fallen by up to 42% since 2007, and many are now in negative equity. Although prices of typical first-time buyer properties in London have increased by around 1.7%, this group is still estimated to face a shortfall of £2,000, considering the high price of an average London home.

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With Irish property prices now at their lowest level since 2003, interest from investors is back on the increase according to the latest search volume data from Rightmove Overseas.  The report shows that, after first increasing in 2009 -- when the full extent of the debt crisis became apparent -- the consistently increasing interest from foreign investors now sees Ireland become the 11th most searched for country on the site.

Property prices have declined over the last four years, with a massive 43% drop since the peak in 2007, and of 14.3% in the past year alone. Flats in Dublin have suffered worst with prices down by 59% since the peak.

A two-bedroom flat in a nice development in central Dublin currently costs around €300,000, while its peak value would have been about €700,000. Houses outside of Dublin are even cheaper with three-bedroom semi-detached homes costing as little as €90,000, compared to €250,000 at the peak of the market.

Irela held its first ever multiple lot auction in April, and it looks likely that more auctions will follow due to the increasing number of repossessions. Typical lots include city apartments in Dublin which are sold complete with tenants and predictions to give a 12% rental yield. However predictions are all very well amidst lingering concerns that rents may be artificially high.

Properties outside Dublin can be bought very cheaply but tend to be in areas which were overdeveloped, and many people moved away as prices became unaffordable. Now these property prices have plummeted, but even though the homes are very attractive there are concerns they could prove difficult to rent and investors are far better off considering flats in the city centre where oversupply isn't a problem.

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Data just released by the Halifax show property prices in the UK increased in October for the first time in three months, but the outlook remains pretty mixed. Prices rose by 1.2% from September, but are down 0.6% on a year earlier. Economists think the market will continue to be supported with record low interest rates.

Despite the fact that many households are under pressure due to unemployment, which is at a 15 year high, fiscal measures worse than at any time since World War II, rising inflation and low salary growth, the housing market has proved to be pretty resilient during the last few months. Prices and activity levels are expected to remain constant over the next few months, especially as the number of sales has remained static since the end of last year.

The Bank of England is predicted to hold interest rates at 0.5% for the foreseeable future, and is expected to maintain its expanded bond purchase program.

Further negative pressure on the market comes from the still-constrained mortgage market, which is preventing many people from buying. There were 50,967 mortgages granted in September, down from 52,347 in August. Prior to 2008 the average monthly total was around 108,000. There are also fears that the economy could be shrinking due to the continuing sovereign debt crisis in Europe, although this would at least dampen down inflation.

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Property sellers in London have increased their asking prices by the most in two years, putting asking prices in the capital at record levels. Asking prices have increased by 5.2% from September, the biggest increase since October 2009 according to Rightmove. The average asking price is now £450,210. Nationally asking prices increased by 2.8% in October.

Property in London has consistently defied national trends as demand has been boosted by cash buyers from overseas, or those who have large deposits and who are able to take advantage of low mortgage rates.

Some experts think property prices in the city are supported by investors who perceive London as being a safe haven in the wake of Europe's debt crisis. Others see people choosing to buy now, before the shortage of housing pushes prices any higher.

The most expensive area in London is Kensington and Chelsea where asking prices rose 6.6% to an average of £1.92 million.

According to Savills, homes sales worth more than £5 million increased by 31%during the first nine months of the year, and 65% of homes in this price bracket were sold to overseas buyers.

This convergence of factors continues to widen the north south divide, which is now more an expanse than a divide. Average asking prices in the South are currently £336,743, more than double the average asking price of £164,347 in the North.

However some experts think new sellers may be pitching their prices too high, and many will find they cannot sell at that price.

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A new report has found that despite record low interest rates and an increase in 90% mortgages, lending to first time buyers and those in the lower income brackets is still ridiculously tight, and in fact getting tighter.

Coventry building society has slashed rates on its five-year fixed-rate mortgages to less than 3.5% for the first time. Northern Rock has sliced 0.9% off some of its deals, while Nationwide, Skipton and Barclays have all taken the axe to interest rates. Meanwhile loan approvals for anyone on a low or middle income have fallen back sharply according to the report from e.surv.

The largest provider of residential valuation services in the UK e.surv found that lenders were more willing to grant loan approvals in the £750,000+ bracket.

"Approvals fell on all price brackets below £750,000, with lower income buyers in particular struggling to secure mortgage finance against a backdrop of tighter lending conditions," says the report.

Recent reports have indicated that loan-to-value limits have been easing, but this is not the case says e.surv. The firm found that first time buyers needed an average 33% deposit to get a mortgage in July, taking us back to levels seen in the darkest days of the credit crunch.

"Despite more high LTV products entering the market, lending criteria tightened most at the lowest end of the property ladder," e.surv said. The biggest squeeze on first-time buyers is in London, it added, where "wealthier buyers continue to represent a disproportionate share of the market."

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