Housing Market Update - Summer 2023
After the disastrous budget back in September 2022, the housing market immediately slowed up and although we had a new Prime Minister and most of what was included in the budget overturned, there was no recovery in the housing market before the end of 2022.
With interest rates having stabilised, after many mortgage providers had pulled their products due to the uncertainty with what was happening with the bank base rate, our sister company, The Mortgage Company can now source five year fixed rate mortgage deals at just below 4%, which is higher than similar products could be obtained 12 months ago, but moving forward this is now the new world of what mortgages will cost for the foreseeable future.
Since the start of 2023, we have seen an improvement in sales activity, but with negative press about the housing market and the increasing costs of living, there is still a certain nervousness about purchasing a property. However, as we move into Spring we are sure we will find that more people wanting to purchase their first home and not live in a rental property or with their parents, growing families will want to move into a larger house with more bedroom space and there are those who will want to downsize to a more manageable property and release the equity that has been amassed over the years in their current home. We have seen an increase in the number of properties being placed on the market in the early part of 2023 which has helped to encourage more people to start looking to purchase a new property but with several bank holidays during April and May there has been a sop/start effect to the sales activity we have experienced.
As the days get longer and warmer as we move through Spring and into the Summer and with there being an improved feel good factor about the economy, we should see more buyers looking to purchase properties which in turn leads to more properties being placed for sale and an increased number of sales being agreed. As we move through 2023, we will report if this is what actually happened as looking forward there are still several unknowns which could influence how people feel about buying or selling a property and moving home.
