What’s happening in the property market?

What an interesting marketplace. Doom and gloom here, cause for optimism there!

It is early days but, our data shows demand for property at the end of the first week of January was more than 10% ahead of the same period a year ago.

Whilst UK house price inflation ran at -1.1% last year (compared with +7.2% in Nov 2022), market sentiment is improving with new sales agreed running 17% higher than a year ago, and demand is also 19% higher. The improvement in market activity late last year looks to be rolling over into the start of 2024… driven by several factors including improving mortgage rates, inflation falling faster than expected and no doubt the Bank of England will come under pressure to cut the base rate later this year.

Yet no one knows what that story of this year will be… Zoopla suggests that about 1m transactions will take place (a little below the average) and house prices will fall by 2%. Knight Frank has just pivoted- now contradicting their earlier prediction of a 4% drop, expecting mainstream house prices to rise by 3%!

Personally, I believe there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic but how long the current momentum in the housing market continues depends to some extent on when the general election takes place…Whatever happens, you can rely on us to guide you through every step of the process, offering transparent communication, and providing insightful commentary, regular updates, ideas, and recommendations where necessary. With us by your side, you can have peace of mind knowing that your interests are protected and, your goals are our priority.

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