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Nationwide House Price Index Dec 22

ended 29. December 2022

Tomorrow morning at 07:00 the Nationwide is publishing its December house price index. As ever, this is your chance to wax lyrical on the state of the property market, e.g. how was demand in December, are we now in a buyer's market, what's going to happen to the property market in 2023? Blah blah. Remember, journalists love killer lines so open the port and let your imagination rip.

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Mike StatonVerified
Director at Staton Mortgages
This data was no surprise given that we had a World Cup, a growing cost of living crisis and then Christmas, with most people putting their homebuying dreams on hold and demand dropping off. January and February could be a good time to start looking as banks will be looking to get 2023 off to a great start and buyers will hold the bargaining power. However, due to the strong jobs market and weak supply, we are less likely to see a crash and more a housing market reset.
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Samuel Mather-HolgateVerified
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
These are the snowflakes that started the avalanche. People will be in no rush to buy properties at the top of the mountain in the New Year. There is plenty of room for prices to fall and I expect little activity in the market until we know where prices decide to settle and that won’t be until late Spring. For buyers who are willing to wait until then, this will be the time to bag a bargain. There will be a lot of distressed sellers needing to offload their properties as they cannot cope with the cost of living. I expect interest rates may have peaked by then.
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Zaid Patel0
Director at Highcastle Estates
January will see cash-ready investors carefully analysing the market, pouncing on any good deals they see, which will save the housing market from crashing
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Austyn JohnsonVerified
Founder at Mortgages For Actors
With the costs of utilities going up dramatically, buyers will be looking at EPC-friendly homes to offset this. Lenders should therefore implement a new affordability process to accommodate this change. If a client can save £50 a month on their heating, this should be considered when it comes to their mortgage affordability. Why do they need to be penalised by being thrown in the same hat as a drafty old 1960s pre-fab? We need innovative thinking from mortgage lenders and the cost of living crisis demands it.
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Alastair HoyneVerified
CEO, Finanze Capital at Finanze Capital
Demand for housing slowed throughout 2022, with much of the contraction due to increased mortgage costs, high inflationary pressures squeezing the purse strings of buyers and declining real wages. Unfortunately, the outlook didn't change in December, with further downward pressure on prices. The shift towards a buyer’s market is well underway, with many estate agents reporting that a large proportion of recent sales have been below asking price.