Russell Quirk, who is never afraid to say what he thinks, took a fresh swipe at the ‘doom-mongers’ who have been talking down the housing market and forecasting ‘Armageddon’, including a sharp decline in house prices, in a video posted on social media yesterday.

With the latest figures from Halifax revealing that house price growth is at a 12-month high, Quirk could not resist the opportunity to make reference in particular to property commentators Charlie Lamdin and Alex Groundwater and their pessimistic house price forecasts in his brief property news round-up – view below.

The debate surrounding the direction of house prices has remained divided of late, with some analysts forecasting double-digit percentage falls in the short- to medium-term, while others refuse to accept that property prices will drop substantially, owing in part to the supply-demand imbalance across the UK.

Quirk was particularly critical of Lamdin who for the the past year or so has predicted that house prices would fall by a record-breaking 35% peak to trough, over however long that takes, likely two-three years.

The claim from Lamdin, founder of Best Agent and presenter of the Moving Home with Charlie YouTube and TikTok channels, has caused concern among some homeowners who would face seeing the value of their property plunge. It has also frustrated many estate agents and housing commentators seeking to talk up the market.

“[There has been] a huge increase at the coalface of estate agency, with reports of up to 20% more sales being done in January 2024 versus January 2023,” said Quirk. “Pipelines increasing, more buyers registering, more viewings, loads more activity thorough the market.”

“These housing market doom-mongers, these grim reapers, are making themselves look like proper Charlies [with their house price forecasts],” he continued.

In the video posted yesterday, he reflects on Lamdin’s forecast, and in particular, “his clown-like prophecies of ‘house price doom’ in light of yet more data out showing prices rising”.

“There‘s no sign of a 35% crash in prices, still, unless you re-cut the data and ‘interpret it’ with a huge dollop of bulls... In fact, I say that Charlie and his disciples are downright dangerous,” he added. 

"Proper Charlies…"

There's some #property news about this morning and so here's an update on the popular trade publications' headlines…

I mention @OnTheMarketCom , Lomond, Home Sale Pack – and one enterprising letting agent's diversification into … drugs.

Plus, I tackle… pic.twitter.com/vhDEAfuHHa

— Russell Quirk (@russellquirk) February 7, 2024

UK house prices ‘will fall by 35%’