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For The Times: Are prospective buyers coming out of the woodwork?

Journalist: George Nixon, The Times and The Sunday Times

ended 10. April 2024

Good morning,

I hope you're all well? A week ago figures published by the Bank of England showed the number of mortgages approved for house purchase reached its highest levels since Liz Truss' mini-Budget. 

Prices seem to have bottomed out, and banks report that activity in the market seems to have improved. I wanted to ask brokers what they're seeing on the purchase side of things at the moment, are you seeing a bit of a more active market, and if any of their clients who are looking at buying might be happy to chat about how they feel despite the higher mortgage rates?

Thanks!

12 responses from the Newspage community

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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
There are more buyers making enquiries, but they are demanding a discount price to secure a home. With interest rates high, the economy is a bad place and activity levels still low in compariosn to two years ago, buyers are driving a hard bargain.
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Chris Barry
Director at Thomas Legal
We are seeing demand increasing through 2024 as interest rates appear more settled and house prices stabilise.

There is also some acceptance that house prices will increase over the year as interest rates reduce brining further demand to the market.
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Simon Bridgland
Director at Charwin Private Clients
Not quite a buyers bonanza, but there are definitely deals to be had. The smart cookies with their ducks in a row and who are able to proceed are in the strongest position to get a great deal, with many properties taking realistic offers from the best positioned buyers. It seems vendors are more inclined to be realistic with prices to get their homes sold.
Enquiries seem to have picked up, I would suggest in the excitement of seeing the number of new properties hitting the market right now. With a potential base rate cut just around the corner in the next couple of months, this should only improve further.
(think I have a FTB who would talk)
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Katy Eatenton
Mortgage & Protection Specialist at Eatenton Finance
There is definitely movement in the purchase market. Spring has sprung.. borrowers are ready for new beginnings
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
Buyers are definitely starting to come out from a prolonged hibernation. Talk about Bank Base rate cuts, inflation falling and the buds of Spring finally now appearing seem to be injecting the market. I have seen more buyers, First-Time buyers in particular, starting to look at their options before the market turns.
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Andrew Montlake
Managing Director at Coreco
There is evidence to suggest that the pent-up demand that has built up over the past few months is starting to cause cracks in the damn, as more prospective buyers seem to be making tentative enquiries.
Whilst the Easter break has slowed the market a touch, as has the stubborn refusal of SWAP rates to fall, buyers are well aware now that this year could be a good opportunity to buy whilst house prices are softer than they have been for some time.
What we do know is that once there is positive interest rate news and rates fall below the magical 4% level once more, the damn could break leading to a very busy mortgage market and house prices, especially in high-demand areas, reversing recent falls.
The market is primed on a knife edge, with economic data the gunpowder, and the Bank of England with their fingers on the trigger of the starting gun.
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Ben Perks
Managing Director at Orchard Financial Advisers
Truss did throw the mortgage market into total turmoil in 2022 and it has taken time to recover. The purchase market has been very slow over the last 18 months as borrowers have held off to see what happens. This year has seen a little more cautious optimism and First Time Buyers seem to be the first ones to adjust to the new world of rates we live in. They dont have the hangover from the good old sub 2% days and seem to be less deterred by whats currently on offer. Enquiries are definitely up this year, but it is a more cautious and slower paced house hunt to what we have seen previously. As rates improve this year, I'm sure this will gather pace though and home movers will start to emerge again.
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Elliott Benson
Owner at Sett Mortgages
We have done far more first meetings with clients in the first quarter this year than the past two and a lot more purchase applications, we are seeing buyers who held off last year to see what happened with rates and the base rate are now coming back to check payments and borrowing.

We mainly deal with first time buyers and the outlook seems to be a lot more positive than last year
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James Mason
Owner at Hawksman Real Estate
We have lots of excellent buyers all wanting to be settled in to their new family home well before the next school year starts in September.
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Gary Bush
Financial Adviser at MortgageShop.com
Impressive, very impressive is all I can call the property buyers of the UK - since the start of 2024 they have come out fighting having now become bored of the doom and gloom of the previous year. Having looked at the figures and spent a lot of time adjusting their household budgets to make room for the expense of either a bigger or first-time buyer mortgage the wait is over for a lot of property buyers. It's encouraging and will only gain momentum once the lenders factor in the financial market feel-good factor that is dawning and decrease their rates.
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Dean Esnard
Director at Magni Finance
Purchase enquiries are up 30% this year due to lower interest rates and looming base rate cuts. The time between a buyer starting their search and having an offer accepted on a property has significantly reduced with buyers realising the market is heating up and the need to act quicker to avoid missing out.
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Mark Robinson
Managing Director at Albion Forest Mortgages
We have seen an increase in enquiries since the start of the year, with people showing more confidence in the mortgage market. Despite a distinct lack of housing market support from the latest budget. Hopefully in coming months the base rate will begin to fall and we will begin to see lower rates going forward.