House price fears fuel bets on market

Growing numbers of punters are taking bets on the housing market without even buying a property.

Spread betting group Cantor Spreadfair has seen a doubling in the number of gamblers betting on a rise or fall in property prices in the past two months.

Rob Thomas of the Council of Mortgage Lenders claimed the growth was a result of increasing uncertainty about house prices. “Two views make a market and there are concerns that house prices may be heading for a fall in 2008,” he said.

Fears have been stoked by recent research from Lombard Street showed that unaffordability is at its worst level since the end of 1992. In addition, Halifax data last week showed that the rate of monthly house price inflation has slowed from 1.9pc in February to 1pc last month.

Unlike normal property investment, spread betting allows people to make money when the market slumps. Simon Smith, the market maker for Cantor Spreadfair, said some people are “going short” to hedge themselves against a drop in the value of their own property.

Tags: house prices, spread betting

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