Average price of a property going to market rises by 0.2%
David Hannah, Group Chairman at Cornerstone Tax, discusses the news that the average price of a property going to market has risen by 0.2%.
New data published by Rightmove shows that the average price of a property going to market rose by just 0.2% this month to £366,247 – significantly lower than the 1.2% average increase which the market experienced this time last year. Adding to this, buyer demand increased by 8% over the same period.
Rightmove’s data also showed that houses bought by first-time buyers witnessed a 2% growth over the year, meaning that the average asking price of a first-time buyer property now stands at a record £224,963. Agreed sales to first-time buyers are now 4% higher than in March 2019 as the average rate of a first-time buyer’s 5-year fixed mortgage deal with a 15% deposit has now fallen to 4.46%.
In light of the promising news, Group Chairman of Cornerstone Tax, David Hannah, offers his thoughts on the market showing signs of becoming both a buyer and seller-friendly environment.
As mortgage rates increased, the market saw a dramatic reduction in buyer appetite. However, activity is now beginning to pick up again due to sellers having to accept the ‘re-adjustment’ to house prices to make a sale.
This has resulted in the reduction of the demand and supply imbalance as more stock becomes available for buyers. Estate agents have reported that there were 35 homes for sale per branch in March. This was the highest number of homes for sale per branch since January 2021 – a year ago, there were just 20.
In light of this news, new reports show sellers are flooding back to the market in a surge of new confidence.
Hannah believes that the renewed confidence in sellers who are looking to move into their next home or buy their first, coupled with the fall in mortgage interest rates, has pushed property prices to a more affordable level.
This has encouraged a wave of buyers back to the market, resulting in an increase in the number of sales agreed – with numbers reflecting pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
Despite calls for a market crash from industry experts, Hannah maintains that, considering these encouraging figures, the market will grow between 6-8% by the end of 2023.
David Hannah, Group Chairman of Cornerstone Tax, explains:
“The UK is going through a re-adjustment period regarding property prices and is slowly adapting to the new rates of mortgages.
“However, we are already beginning to see a fall in fixed rate mortgages, which has resulted in a wave of buyers returning to the property market.
“There are now real opportunities for those ready to take them. We are in a situation where sellers have renewed confidence in the market, which has resulted in more properties becoming available.
“This means prices are falling to an affordable level and buyers now have more choice.
“I predict that there will be no crash and we won’t see 7-10% fall in property prices that we saw in the noughties.
“Over 2023, I expect to see low- to mid- to single-digit growth in the UK property market.”
Kindly shared by Cornerstone Tax
Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay
