Halifax HPI - your local media - Jan 2023

Maidenhead/Windsor based.

Over the last couple of months, I have noticed properties listed on Rightmove/Zoopla being reduced. Some have stayed as they are but seem to be taking longer to sell. I mentioned in October 2022, that we'll start seeing the housing market go through a correction. There won't be a housing crash by any means.

We've had an increase in enquiries, specifically from first-time buyers as they have been made aware by us that fixed-rate mortgages are coming down and it's a good time to start looking at properties again.

A housing market correction and reducing fixed-rate mortgages is going to appeal to a lot of people out there.

Property prices haven't reduced much in this area, maybe 3% maximum 5% on some properties. I expect a further maximum drop of 2-3% by the end of 2023, compared to now.

Surprisingly the housing market has bounced back somewhat in Norfolk, with a stronger appetite for people to move as the realisation sets in that rates aren't going to drop back down overnight. With the right marketing and realistic valuations provided by estate agents, properties are continuing to sell and we have had a handful of clients achieve over the asking price in recent weeks. For the rest of 2023, I expect Norfolk to fare well as we are somewhat of a microeconomy in itself. We spend a lot of time educating our clients on how the pricing of mortgages work and even with the recent base right increase many are seen as unconcerned due to the more positive outlook around the reduction in pricing of fixed-rate mortgages.

North London property prices have been mainly stable, there is still a real shortage of properties on the market and so demand is high regardless.

Buyer and seller sentiment hasn't really been affected by last week's additional .50% Bank of England base rate rise - after 10 increases on the bounce the public now have reasonable expectations of mortgage rates and actually are it seems starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I would expect North London property prices to be still increased by the high single digits at the end of 2023, as long as Liz and Kwazi stay well clear....................................

We had an exciting month! The first week back was very quiet. Now we have four sales agreed. Two buyers are investors, and the others are first-time buyers. The first-time buyers met the asking price, as both their sellers weren't rushing to sell.
In comparison, the investors both had offers accepted 10-15% below the asking price. Both sellers are landlords, now on a variable interest-only mortgage, which increased considerably. It will be an interesting time ahead. On top of that, the first weekend in February, we have an open house for a property that needs complete refurbishment. There are 37 buyers booked in, varied between first-time buyers and investors, with four cash offers, under asking, already on the table. Still, we're confident we can achieve the above asking.

Having been one of the biggest risers during the pandemic, property prices in the Bristol and South Gloucestershire area are now falling quite quickly.

Last week's base rate rise has made many of our clients more cautious. Several have said they intend to wait a few months to see where the market goes. My best guess is Bristol property prices will be around 15% lower by the end of the year.

It's still a fact that the UK cannot build houses fast enough, and I'm still getting enquiries for all types of property, from new build to residential, from commercial to BTL. Things are not slowing down for us, we are just adapting to different areas of the business. If the market stays like this until its stabilised, I can foresee a big boom in the market when it comes back down again. BTL investors will be snapping up all of this cheaper housing and then remortgaging it to release equity once its back up again. My local area is still building swarms of houses, they have really stepped it up this year.

The local property market seems to be resilient, with quality stock difficult to come across and many first-time buyers looking for a good quality home at the right price to provide an entry point onto the housing ladder.
With buy-to-let stress tests still making higher loan-to-value lending difficult in London and the South, there is a slowdown from investors looking to leverage closer to 75%, however, cash buyers are still looking for opportunity, this does mean that some tenanted stock may be on the market for a longer timeframe.
The latest interest rate rise has not impacted mortgage products, with many lenders dropping rates since the announcement, as they position for business and need to remain competitive. This is a positive sign for home buyers, home movers and those re-mortgaging shortly.

The local property market is holding up, with values having levelled off. While we’ve all read that prices are predicted to fall, the latest Land Registry data shows a slow and steady incline. The reductions which we’re all seeing on the property portals are asking prices rather than values achieved and it’ll be interesting to see how this develops over the next couple of months. Last week's base rate increase appears to have had little impact on local buyers, and while mortgage rates continue to trend downwards, albeit marginally, market confidence remains stable. Given the level of buyer activity so far in 2023, we expect prices to hold and perhaps even increase marginally throughout the year.