The UK property market is an ever changing landscape, particularly in the current economic climate. However, one constant is a general under-supply of properties and a healthy market of buyers with an appetite to move.
UK Housing Market
The latest Survey for November 2022 (reporting on October data) suggests that one of the major changes to note is that properties were selling faster as mortgage offers were being secured in a bid to beat the rate rises. The fear of higher interest rates seems to have been driving buyers to conclude property purchases with alacrity. Buyers with mortgage deals that were on the favourable side were obviously keen to take advantage and lock in those better rates.
Against a backdrop of political and economic uncertainty for UK consumers, and the emergent cost of living crisis, 74% of active buyers in the UK were confident of the purchase of a property in the next 3 months, slightly down from 75% in September 2022. Up from 4% in the prior period, 6% of buyers were confident of a property purchase in the next 12 months, indicating that we can look forward to a continuation of an active market.
82% of sellers in the UK were confident of selling their property within the next 3 months (compared to 79% in September 2022). Slightly reduced was the number of sellers who felt confident that it would take up to 9 months, which was 3% down from 4% in the prior month, a small but notable change.
The length of time taken to sell a property is a good indicator of the health of the housing market, so these changes indicate a more positive outlook in October.
The figures have a regional slant as you would expect. The confidence that sellers in the East Midlands would sell their home within the next 3 months rose by 8%. The sellers surveyed in the South West and Wales also saw an increase in confidence of 7%. On the other hand, in the North East, there was a 1% drop in the same measure, indicating a harsher climate in this area.
If you are on the move and need to speak to a solicitor about conveyancing or a building survey London or elsewhere, firms such as Sam Conveyancing can guide you through the process.
Outlook
With the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister and the reversal of some of the controversial mini budget measures, there is a sense that some stability is starting to return, but clearly, with mortgage rates being significantly higher than they were last year, there is still a challenging landscape for home buyers and sellers to navigate.
It is predicted by many estate agents that property prices will fall next year, so sellers are going to want to take advantage now, while buyers could ultimately look to hold off purchasing, which will create pressure on demand. However, currently, there is a limited pool of buyers with good mortgage rates secured, who will want to secure a new home, so sellers are advised not to wait to sell, as this will quickly pass.