Housing market shows mixed signals

Housing market shows mixed signals

0:01 AM, 23rd January 2025, About 3 hours ago

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House prices in England and Wales are on the rise again with an annualised growth of 1.9% – which is below the rate of inflation.

A report from Home.co.uk, also reveals that rents in London have fallen sharply in recent months, with the City of London and Hackney seeing the biggest falls.

However, rents in other parts of the country, such as the East Midlands and Yorkshire, are growing at double-digit rates.

Despite the mixed signals, the property market still appears to be moving in a positive direction.

Property turnover remains high

The report also shows that property turnover remains high, and the time it takes to sell a house is significantly lower than it was before the pandemic.

The report’s authors say that the unsold sales stock count has fallen again in recent months, but it is still the highest level for any January since 2015.

They also say that the number of new properties coming onto the market is up 8% compared to December 2023.

The North East of England remains the region with the strongest property market growth, although the rate of growth has slowed down to 5.1%.

Yorkshire is in second place, with growth of 4.6%.

The East of England is the worst performing region, with growth of just 0.4% over the past year.

Expectations are for a rate cut

The report says: “Market expectations are for a rate cut by the Bank of England in February and, should this materialise, buyer confidence may get the fillip it needs, at least in the short term.

“For the time being, the vital signs of the UK property sales market indicate a positive state of health overall.

“The volume of property moving through the market is higher than during most of the five years prior to the pandemic.”

Home.co.uk says that affordability constraints, such as the cost of borrowing and stamp duty, along with more properties being put up for sale, will restrict price growth this year.


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