There's a piece in The Independent today covering Barrett's results:

In interim results covering the 19 weeks from 1 July, the house builder revealed that private sales were down compared with a year ago. Barratt attributed the decline in sales, which are now at 2005-6 levels, to the tougher market and its decision not to pursue the lower-margin segments of the buy-to-let market.

The statement comes on the heels of a Nationwide report last week which forecast that fading momentum would cause house-price inflation to drop from its current rate of 9.7 per cent to nought by this time next year.

Not sounding too brilliant.

http://money.independent.co.uk/property/homes/article3177073.ece 

Looks like my plans for making a fortune on the flat we bought this year, to then purchase a buy-to-let property have been scuppered. Maybe I'll have to supplement my income by doing a bit of DIY for the neighbors (well, the ones with insurance at least!). I guess the proposed introduction of HIPS for all isn't going to get people running out and buying properties either. Do you think this is intentional to slow the housing market down?

There is no way that the growth was continually sustainable. I'm no financial expert, but a slow down was inevitable, surely. In fact, how can some kind of collapse not happen? Even if demand is high, if prices are consistently above rises in inflation, there is no way that your average person can afford a property. It isn't complicated maths. Also, wasn't there another story about how the take up of mortgages was down 20% on last year at a certain building society? That sounds deeply concerning.

Should be a bit of uplift still in SE London - particularly if you bought on the route of the East London Line Extension

So if you're a builder in SE London, you're sorted then. Shame I'm not.

Where I live (South Lambeth) there is definitely a slow-down and there is a big Polish community so there's a lot of competition over price and the work is drying up a bit.

Thankfully there is still quite a lot of conversion work around which may (funnily enough) increase if prices slip. 

Got to beware of builders in South East London though.

Unless you want something like this happening to your house.

 Been a lot of those lately.

 Croydon.
 

Weren't there a couple last year as well, I seem to recall?