ANALYSTS and fund managers are advising their clients to steer clear of property stocks in the first half of 1998 as competition is expected to bite harder into the property sector.
Land Registry figures, provided by Centaline Property Agency, show the number of property transactions has dropped to levels not seen since November 1995.
Up to December 20, only 5,146 residential property transactions, worth about $17 billion, were recorded for the month. The number of transactions for all December is expected to be just 7,000.
The big developers have started dropping prices more than 20 per cent in some cases, while many have dropped prices at least 10 per cent.
Some developers have even started offering top-up mortgages in a bid to spur moribund buying sentiment.
This comes as little surprise.
