With the New Year now well underway, a clearer picture is beginning to emerge of the health of the property market, and the likely trajectory of house prices in the months to come.
Compared to the same time last year, the number of potential buyers perusing the portals has increased by 10%, with the number of properties coming to the market also up by 15%. The uptick owes, in part, to the most recent easing of mortgage rates, and the much more positive lending climate, which although still restrictive, has given a long-overdue boost to buyers' confidence and spending power.
In terms of where house prices are sitting currently, the UK index shows that they are 1.1% lower than a year ago, but in spite of this, the average UK home is still worth 18% (£41,000) more than in March 2020.
The burning question, therefore, is whether the price declines of late have bottomed out, or whether further declines are still to come. The consensus on this, according to industry experts, is that the negative pressure on prices may continue until the spring, before stabilising in the latter quarter of the year. From the low base set in 2023, this will likely result in a 3% rise in prices overall.
In the meantime, there is probably enough persuasion in the market’s tentative signs of recovery, to convince would-be buyers and sellers that now might be as good a time as any to action an onward move. Unsurprisingly, estate agents are seeing this sentiment translate into a good level of buyer demand, with the number of sales being agreed 20% higher than last January.
This flurry of positive activity is being fuelled, partly, by the increasingly competitive deals being offered by lenders at 60% loan to value, coupled of course with the much more realistic pricing strategies currently being adopted by vendors.
Summary
If there is one point that anyone thinking of selling or buying in the coming months should keep in mind, it's that the number of properties coming to market is quickly outpacing buyer enquiries, and this may - in time to come - prevent the scale of price falls from slowing as quickly as it might.
Equally, activity does tend to dip in the lead up to an election, and with the next one scheduled for the second half of the year, the recovery from last year’s economic convulsions is likely to look far from linear.
For more details on the current local market, or to book a no-obligation valuation, please call Braxton on 01628 674234 or email property@braxtons.co.uk.