Market Reports

There’s no doubt that the property market is cooling after the unsustainable pandemic levels. While the interest rate and inflation have served to moderate buyers’ plans, property values are naturally returning to more sensible levels. Equilibrium is being provided by falling mortgage rates.

July is a month when people are away on annual leave or are juggling school holidays, and home moving activity usually reflects this. In the last four weeks, however, Rightmove found buyer demand remains strong. In fact, it’s currently 3% higher than the same time in 2019.

While it was the hottest June since records began, the property market started its summer cool down early. Rightmove cited the new 5% interest rate as a reason for earlier-than-usual changes. Its June headline revealed the first monthly drop in asking prices in 2023.

Although it sounds like a tenuous connection, the property market and the weather are linked. The arrival of early summer has coincided with the traditional uptick in house prices. This May, Rightmove has noted an extraordinary correlation between warmer temperatures and property values.

With a third of the year complete, it’s a good time to appraise the property market. If your primary concern is the direction of house prices, Rightmove can shed light. It found the average house price in Great Britain had climbed 0.2% in April to £366,247.

Spring is traditionally a peak season for sales and we’re beginning to see the first ‘green shoots’ of activity. The statistics come from Rightmove, whose March House Price Index reflects data across England, Scotland and Wales. The trend is for asking prices to increase.

Nationwide’s latest House Price Index showed that after three years of rising values, stability has been restored. With a market returning to more ‘normal’ territory, expectations need adjusting, as a new report from Zoopla revealed.

New year, new-look property market? With January complete, signs are emerging of what the buying, selling and lettings trends will be in 2023. Zoopla is first out the blocks, with news on asking prices versus paid for prices.

November brought stability to the property market, with nothing outrageous to report. In fact, positive news began filtering through, starting with mortgage rates. Financial advisers saw rates peak in October and, in some cases, begin to fall in November. 

You may have seen October’s headline that property prices had fallen for the first time in 15 months. Should this come as a shock? No, as the frequency and rate at which house prices rose during late 2020 and 2021 was unsustainable

It may read like ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ but there’s plenty of positive property news this month. If approached with calm caution, highlights can be extracted. You just need to know where to look.

What does it take to stop the UK’s apparently unassailable property market? Another interest rate rise? An energy crisis? Rising food bills? For now, apparently none of these factors is denting the determination to move home.