They are watching the property market very closely to try and cash in on the cheapest property prices before they start to rise again and an estimated £20.2 billion which could re-vitalise the property market is being held onto by prospective investors as they wait until they think that prices have bottomed out, says the survey from mortgage lender First Direct.
However, 12% of respondents to the lender's survey said they doubted they would be able to buy the right property, even at current prices, with Londoners prepared to wait the longest to grapple with the market, compared to other regions. The survey also found that women are twice as likely as men to wait for a better price.
Meanwhile, 15% of those questioned thought the market could recover by the end of 2009 although a similar proportion were not expecting price rises before 2012.
First Direct spokesman, Jimmy Kelly, said investors should consider what they are doing with the money while they wait for the right property at the right price.
'If property is your preferred investment, it's worth existing home-owners investigating offset mortgages as a savings option while they wait for the right time to invest. With savings accounts paying such low rates of interest at the moment, offsets are looking particularly attractive,' he said.
He added that swapping to an offset mortgage could cut down the length of a £100,000 25 year mortgage by almost three years and save £18,322 in interest payments over the lifetime of the mortgage.
The research also found a quarter of those surveyed felt lucky to be able to take advantage of falling house prices, but 20 per cent were having to put major decisions on hold.