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UK property market - what's happening

Journalist: Elizabeth Anderson, Freelancer

ended 12. September 2024

Hi all, I am writing a comprehensive guide to what's going on in the UK property market right now for the Daily Mail, summarising the recent / upcoming tax changes.

I'm looking for answers to:
- Is now a good time to buy or sell?
- Who's buying and who's selling?
- What types of properties are people trying to flog?
- Are first-time buyers coming back to the market - and landlords?

Any colour / insight particularly from estate agents in popular areas or mortgage brokers would be useful.

Please send a few thoughts by email and I can follow up with further ques / a phone call if needed. This is a very tight turnaround so ideally answers asap!

 

Thank you

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Katie Hobson
Compliance and Sales Manager at Complete Prime Residential
It’s currently a buyers’ market, driven by a lack of demand, delays in conveyancing and the suggested tax implications of the upcoming Budget, which has resulted in sellers more willing to accept lower offers. Some investors are selling properties due to high mortgage interest rates, while most buyers are seeking homes to live in. On second hand transactions we are seeing that buyers are leveraging this situation to negotiate reductions on previously agreed sales. All types of properties are being sold, but there has been a notable drop in first-time buyer interest over the past year, largely due to rising mortgage rates.
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Tim Allcott
Managing Partner at Allcott Associates
For the first time in a long time, the property market appears suprisingly stable. We are seeing a steady stream of enquiries. The peaks and troughs that we've been used to since the Brexit, Covid and Truss rollercoaster have calmed, and it's now neither a buyers' or a sellers' market. It's just normal. If you buy or sell now, you're likely to pay a fair price, and while it's unlikely to inflate dramatically in the near future, over the years to come it should be a sound investment.
Looking ahead, changes to the rules around non-doms, increases in capital gains tax and VAT on private schools are all likely to reduce sales at the upper end of the market; however, further rate cuts shoulde balance this out to some extent, and keep the market ticking over.
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Ben Perks
Managing Director at Orchard Financial Advisers
Right now, the property market feels like a drawn arrow waiting to fly.
Rates are reducing, confidence is building and lenders are eager for business. We are just waiting for a catalyst to get things underway. Another base rate cut could provide this. First-time buyers, who know no different, are less cautious reagarding rates and certainly feel more keen to crack on with their plans. Home movers are starting to consider their options more since the end of the summer and we've seem more properties going up for sale in recent weeks. Now is a good time to buy and sell, before what could be the mad rush of 2025, hopefully.
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Chris Barry
Director at Thomas Legal
We are seeing an uplift in BTL owners looking to sell, motivated by the high probability investment properties will be taxed more under a Labour goverment and the likelyhood of a CGT rise following the Autumn Budget. This does, however, present a great opportunity for first-time buyers to get onto the ladder. Mortgage lenders are reducing rates, sellers are prepared to negotiate and a lot of investment stock coming to market is typically in the first-time buyer value bracket. The most prominent statistic however is that the average house price is 6.1 times the average salary right now, which is lower than 2007. This is because house prices stagnated for many years post 2008 but salaries have increased most years with recent years seeing large increases, especially at the basic rate.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
There is no time like the present. The market is definitely rallying and naturally does in September after the August holiday lull. The recent rate cut has helped and first-time buyers should be considering starting to buy now as the market is on the cusp of turning for the better. Delaying buying to save an extra few thousand for your deposit could be counteractive if property prices increase as this could easily erase the extra saved. First-time buyers and investors are the key to starting property chains so are much needed. Serious landlord investors are continuing to buy as the market is shrinking, which creates more opportunity and higher rents and return on investment due to lower supply although they have been met with various challenges.
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Simon Bridgland
Director at Charwin Private Clients
There is far too much speculation happening to know anything for certain and making large financial decisions on speculation is both dangerous and costly. Likelihood is if you are trying to sell before any changes in CGT or IHT you’re way too late for a sale to complete in time. ‘Dinner table’ landlords, who can ill afford a kick in the wallet by Mrs Reeves, seem to have the biggest jitters, with the pressure being applied on a seemingly daily basis. That said, buy-to-let enquiries have increased from those looking for a new deal rather than selling up, as currently some BTL products are very attractive. For me, first time buyers are scarce with no signs of any real improvement, unless they come with hefty deposits. Going into next year, I feel the real losers will be those mortgage borrowers who are struggling with mortgage and other credit payments, stuck with adverse credit pilling up around them with nowhere to go for an affordable mortgage, so forced to sell out of desperation.
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Mark Eaton
COO at April Mortgages
The summer was unseasonably busy in terms of mortgage demand and this is continuing into the Autumn. Falling mortgage rates and the Bank of England cutting the base rate have likely contributed to this. What we’re seeing is an increase in the number of borrowers locking-in for longer periods as this protects them against being exposed to a market that can turn very quickly. People are increasingly alive to the fact that one event can rapidly send rates the wrong way, whether that’s a spike in inflation or a fiscal event such as the Autumn Budget. For many years after the GFC, rates were very predictable but that is no longer the case if you are switching products every two years. Borrowers can protect themselves from this by locking in for longer time periods.