OLIVER GILL GIVES AN UPDATE ON THE CURRENT PROPERTY MARKET IN SADDLEWORTH
FOR MORE than a decade the Office for National Statistics has recorded an increase in house prices every month, since May 2012.
Neither Brexit nor the pandemic have been able to stop it but many experts are now forecasting that the fallout from the “mini” Budget will.
We have certainly seen a slowdown in seller activity since September 23, when Liz Truss announced £43 billion of unfunded tax cuts.
Asking prices on new-to-market instructions have fallen slightly in both October and November and a quick glance through property listings locally show an increase in price reduction numbers for existing for sale properties.
Although lower than average properties have been listed for sale over the last two months, houses in particular have still sold well over this period albeit not with the same frenzy seen earlier in the year or throughout 2021.
Buyers are facing increased borrowing costs given The Bank of England raised UK interest rates by 75 basis points at its November meeting as inflation returned to a 40-year high.
It was the eighth hike this year, bringing the bank rate to three per cent, up from 0.5 per cent in January.
It’s not all bad news for buyers though who at present benefit from zero stamp duty land tax up to a purchase price of £250,000, saving £2,500 at this price.
General market consensus seems to be a levelling off around 4.5 per cent by mid-2023 although that of course remains to be seen.
House prices have increased again this year and are predicted to have risen by around six per cent by the end of 2022.
With growth of about 25 per cent since the pandemic, I believe it’s fair to assume that house prices have now levelled off and potentially peaked.
It looks like we are in for uncertain times ahead given the economic forecasts. Saddleworth, however, remains a fantastic place to live and provided home owners are sensible about asking prices there will always be buyers wanting to purchase homes within the area.
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