Many people may be selling for the simple reason that they cannot afford the mortgage payments any longer, along with paying off all the other debt they've accrued over the last few years.

Despite Mr. Browns protestations to the contrary, I think the UK property market is just as vulnerable to a meltdown as it has been over here - if not more so. At least in the US 15 or 30 year fixed rate mortgages are relatively common and provide a nice measure of protection. Many of the folks here who are either foreclosing or short-selling have been hit either by an increase in the adjustable rates of their ARM or because they used all the equity in the property to pay off credit cards or buy toys.

Given that the UK on average has seen house prices rise far faster than over here (although granted there have been some hotspots in the US) it's not surprising to me that the cracks are now starting to show in the market.

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Rachel

Please treat all advice given as mere suggestions from a humble lass who's just learned the pain the hard way

I work in IT - so I'm qualified (just) to turn on a computer. Any advice I give should be considered simply random ramblings!

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