As we move towards the end of another turbulent year and look ahead towards 2023, it is a good opportunity to ask what the property market conditions might be like. If you are a facing the prospect of remortgaging, or are a first-time buyer, it is especially important to do plenty of research and seek the advice of an experienced mortgage broker.
The BBC reports that affordable towns are becoming more of a draw with house hunters, as the cost-of-living bites and mortgage rates rise. Towns where house prices tend to be around the national average or below include Crewe, Milton Keynes, Bradford, Carlisle, Hull, and Dundee.
The pandemic trend of moving to larger properties in rural areas has started to fall away. This may be a combination of higher living costs, and ‘buyer’s remorse’, as people who found that their dream of living and working remotely in the deepest countryside or by the sea didn’t match up to reality.
Some lockdown evacuees returned to their old city lives within months, not realising how much they would miss the urban conveniences on their doorstep, or proximity to family and friends. Others found that their workplace had a change of policy, requiring them to be present in the office for a certain number of days a week.
Richard Donnell, executive director of research at Zoopla, said: “House prices are going to come under the most pressure in the most expensive markets, because with higher mortgage rates it just hits buying power that much harder.”
He added: “I think London and the South East are going to bear the brunt of price falls next year… but actually in many parts of the North, the Midlands, rural Wales, housing is not fundamentally overvalued… so you’re not going to see as big a fall in those markets.”
Chris Druce, senior research analyst at estate agent Knight Frank, said: “After a frenetic period for the country market, city living has come back strongly as workers have returned to the office, and the lifting of pandemic restrictions has boosted the appeal of urban living.”
Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that house prices are expected to fall by as much as 8% next year. This is partly a rebalancing of the inflated prices seen during the pandemic, when the stamp duty holiday fuelled by much higher-than-average activity in the housing market. It is also a reflection of the weakened economic outlook for the next year.
The Nationwide Building Society chief economist Robert Gardner said that despite the less optimistic outlook, there was unlikely to be a serious crash as seen during the credit crunch of 2008/9.
He commented: “But there is still a good chance that we can achieve a relatively soft landing next year with activity stabilising modestly below pre-pandemic levels and house prices edging lower.”
However, lower house prices may be an opportunity for some first-time buyers to take their first step on the property ladder in 2023. If you would like to talk to bad credit mortgage brokers UK please get in touch today.
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There may be a fee for mortgage advice. The actual amount you pay will depend on your circumstances. The fee is up to 1% but a typical fee is £595.
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