So what does 2010 hold for IT Contractors and the housing market? Taj Kang Associate Director at Contractor Mortgages Made Easy feels that there are a number of positive signs.<br><br>After continued cuts throughout 2009 some positive news for Contractors in 2010 comes from Tech research firm Gartner, who?s recently released figures suggest that IT spend would increase this year, with 43% of the senior decision makers they spoke to saying that their IT spend would rise, and only 13% expecting to spend less.<br><br>The biggest opportunity for contractors seems to be within the banking sector. Although the banks were the first to be hit during the recession they are also most likely to be the first to recover and due to the legalities of rehiring permanent staff after mass redundancies they will look to contractors to fulfil these roles.<br><br>On the housing front as expected The Bank of England has once again held the base rate at 0.50%.<br><br>Activity in the housing market has increased with The Bank Of England revealing that 60,518 mortgages were granted in November, a 4.85 per cent rise on October, comfortably beating the figure of 58,000 forecast by analysts.<br><br>This is more than 200 per cent higher than the 27,162 figure for November 2008, when confidence in the market was at its lowest.<br><br>This means that more mortgages were taken out in November than at any other time since March 2008.<br><br>The forecast by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is that the number of UK property sales is likely to increase to a monthly average of 70,000 up from the current level of between 55,000 and 60,500.<br><br>These predictions come despite banks maintaining strict lending criteria, offering the best mortgages to those with perfect credit ratings and a large deposit. This has led to a number of experts stating that lenders need to do more to help borrowers and in particular first time buyers.<br><br>Oliver Gilmartin, senior economist at RICS, said: ?The Bank of England figures support our view that increasing momentum in the housing market will see further rises in house prices during early 2010. Mortgage approvals have now been rising consistently for a year and the latest credit conditions survey from the Bank of England continues to suggest a gradual improvement in the lending environment over the coming months.<br><br>The latest housing market prediction comes just days after property website Rightmove said home owners increased asking prices by more than 3 per cent in the past year to ?221,463. They were asking ?213,570 at the beginning of the year.<br><br>With a number of positive signs in both the contractor and mortgage markets for 2010, many contractors will be looking to enter the property market again this year. It is highly recommend that any contractor who has a requirement for mortgage advice utilises the services of a specialist contractor mortgage broker. Someone who understands contractor work patterns and payment methodology, rather than a generic broker who is more likely to waste a client?s time and money as a result of a failed mortgage application.