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This is the question many potential home buyers will be asking themselves, as they read the regular conflicting reports on house prices.

On one hand commentators are identifying signs that the housing market will get back on track and even grow during the next few years, whilst on the other predictions are gloomier and point to future price corrections.

According to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) the August cut in interest rates has further helped to boost a market where property sales have increased 10% since their low in February and the pace of falling asking prices has slowed.

However the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) predicts that prices will slip by 2% this year, compared with an earlier forecast of a 4% rise. It also feels that there will not be any growth between January 2005 and December 2007, where previously it predicted growth of 8%.

So What Does This Mean For Buyers?

With evidence suggesting price stagnation, first time buyers hoping for a price correction to more affordable levels may have to wait some time yet.

A stagnant market is not great news for property investors either. Without a generous rise in prices, it will be difficult for investors to make profitable gains when they come to sell.

However, it is becoming a buyers market and sellers have to be much more flexible in their negotiations. Further to this, the outlook for the market seems to be fairly stable and buyers worried about a repeat of the early 1990s housing crash may feel more reassured.