December 2022 Market Comment

It’s incredible that, nationally, average house prices have risen by about 24% in the past two years (source: Rightmove). Nobody predicted this, and it was inevitable that the buying frenzy, which led to highly inflationary bidding wars, would end. Well it probably has – but not in the way that many sensationalist media outlets are suggesting. 

Mortgage approvals were down in the last reported month of October, but only by about 10%. That’s actually quite moderate considering what has happened in that time – the shocking emergency budget in September, higher interest rates, and cost of living inflation.   

A good thing to have come from a less frenetic market is that there are more homes available for sale, up about 13% on the same time last year (source: Zoopla). This is good news for those potential sellers who had been reluctant to sell in case they couldn’t find anywhere to buy. Not any more, and the market is now more or less in balance. 

The short-term confusion is over, and both interest rates and mortgage availability are settling down, meaning that people can plan ahead.

In terms of prices; the price of newly-marketed homes on Rightmove dropped by 1.1% last month, which is perfectly normal as people hope to have a sale in the bag by Christmas. And the number of price reductions of existing stock nationally last month is, at 8%, only slightly above pre-pandemic levels.   

Buyer demand is actually 4% up on pre-pandemic levels and those buyers will also continue to benefit from that 0% rate of stamp duty up to £250,000 until March 2025 as well as the fastest-growing wage growth in over 20 years (5.7%pa).

The Christmas/New Year period ahead of us is now firmly entrenched as the season when buyers, with a bit more time on their hands, start to look for property. However, many potential sellers still think that spring is the time to sell. Please don’t become part of this mismatch. The smart money says “do it now”. One of the advantages of selling sooner rather than later is that your property is likely to be roughly similar to others we are currently taking on; anybody attracted to one of these other properties will also be actively encouraged to view yours at the same time. We’re quite good at creating these types of sales that might not otherwise have happened. So why not join other sellers who are doing the same thing and put us to the test, in anticipation of what we expect will be a busy Christmas market ahead. I think you’ll be impressed. 

©Copyright 2022 Richard Rawlings except as excluded under licence.