sellers should wait until after christmasAlliance & Leicester may have claimed that a surprisingly large number of home moving is done in the run-up to Christmas, but those looking to secure the best deal have been advised to wait until the new year.

Property Ladder's Phil Spencer has told the Daily Telegraph that there are many "aggressive buyers" around the place at the moment who could force prices down in the pre-Christmas period.

But Phil has suggested that this trend is unlikely to last long and predicted that people would 'regain their composure' come 2008.

"Things aren't that bad in reality; they just look bad compared to recent years," he told the paper.

"So far in London and the south-east we've seen a slowing in price growth, not a drop in prices. City bonuses will be paid, albeit lower amounts and in smaller numbers," the presenter added.

Yesterday Spicerhaart Financial Services predicted that house prices would rise by two per cent in 2008 before returning to something around the current level in 2009.

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