SEVERAL reports at the start of the year point towards falling house prices and slowing sales and suggest the housing market in 2008 is going to be a tough year.

While local estate agents Allen & Harris, part of the chain which won the Best Estate Agency of the Year title for 2007, are in no doubt the market is changing, however they suggest this shouldn't put people off moving home.

Kate Young, branch manager at the firm's Westbury office said, "The reality behind most of these reports is somewhat less dramatic to what you see in the headlines. The reason for this is that everything is compared to the exceptional growth we've had in the last three or four years, when year-on-year house price rises were regularly topping 15 per cent and houses were selling in days and sometimes even hours."

"This year will be much calmer and, like most people, we expect house price growth to remain level and activity to pick up again as has happened during the first few months of the last three years.

"For estate agents like us that have been around a long time, it's nothing new and what we are experiencing are more normal conditions."

Nevertheless Kate believes buyers and sellers should adapt to these changing conditions and take on board some simple tips to help achieve their dream move.

Buyers in particular, who may be wondering if this is really the right time to make a move, should take heart, she believes.

Her top tips to buyers include:

• Be organised and budget - moving home involves a number of organisations and costs money. Get a diary, have a budget and organise everything. There's nothing worse than losing an important document at a crucial time in the move.

• Get your mortgage in place beforehand - this will save a lot of time and speed up your move when you've found that dream home. Our Head Start service will show what you can afford to buy and put you ahead of other buyers when you put in an offer.

• Do your research - see what's available in the area, what asking prices are and find out exactly what properties are selling for - this will let you know what kind of offer to put in.

• Be open to other options - How important is it really to have an en suite bathroom? How about looking beyond the seven-mile radius most people move within?

• If it's the right house, buy it. We all shop around when it comes to buying consumer goods, even if we find the right product at the right price in the first shop we go into. Don't shop for a home this way, when you find the perfect home, buy it!

5:20pm Wednesday 26th March 2008

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