The Housing Downturn

The world's housing markets have seen the sharpest slowdown in prices andtransactions for over a generation – nowhere more than in Britain. So what canthe property industry learn from the experience?.. This book, by property writer Graham Norwood, sets out the signals that wereappearing from 2005 onwards as the foundations of the industry began to crack.He asks: why were they missed? Why did so few people speak out against glutsof apartments in major city centres targeted at falling numbers of investmentbuyers? Did we not know or care that property scams were becoming rife?Could we not see at least some alarm signals from the problems destroying theproperty industry in Spain?.. For the first time, senior figures from all elements of the residential industry –developers, agents, analysts, lenders, planners and pundits – comment on whatthey believe led to the downturn... The book then sets out what the industry may learn from the experience.It compares those developers and estate agents that down-sized or collapsedaltogether with those that survived and, in some cases, even prospered in thedownturn. It identifies common indicators amongst those that remained strongthrough a 50% collapse in sales and a 25%-plus collapse in prices, and offersinsights into how policies of diversification and modernisation helped manycompanies survive... It also looks to the future and presents a sobering vision, created by scores ofexperts interviewed during the downturn, of what the market may be like whenvolumes, prices and spirits move upwards once again.