Keep up to date with the latest Andrew Granger & Co news
Thu 24 November 2022
Whatever the next few months hold, if you’re considering moving home, we are here to guide you through your property sale or purchase. With over 32 years’ experience in the property industry, we have navigated clients through all kinds of previous markets.
As much as we’d all love it to, the property market can never stay the same. This will hardly come as a surprise to anyone, as so many other things in our lives are changing almost on a daily basis – the prime minister, government policies, mortgage interest rates, the cost of living, and public and commercial confidence.
How is all this change affecting the property market? Less than you may think. Most evidence seems to point to a swing from a strong sellers’ market to a moderate buyers’ market. Moderate because there are still powerful but sometimes opposing forces at work, such as low numbers of properties on the market, which are keeping house prices reasonably buoyant. This lack of stock could well be the economy at work, but with Christmas on the horizon it could also have something to do with the time of year. So, we’ll have a more accurate picture of this in the new year.
The good news is that these times always bring out the more focussed buyers and sellers, and estate agents expect fewer deals to fall-through over the next few months. Active buyers want to keep hold of their current mortgage offers and see purchases through rather than risk re-applying at higher interest rates. But, over time, higher interest rates will become the norm and bring new pressures for most, including many thousands of homeowners coming off fixed-rate mortgages next year. And we should remember that interest rates are still below the thirty-year average.
The energy crisis might encourage some homeowners to lower costs by downsizing, thereby bringing larger properties onto the market. But many first-time buyers will have to wait longer until they have enough money to afford higher mortgage costs, so this could create a jam further up the property ladder.
All in all, it’s a not ideal. The property sector and housing generally need stability. We have had a different housing minister nearly every year since the start of this century and five in the past two years. So, for a start, our new prime minister could try and keep a housing minister in place for the next forty-eight months.
Yet, despite all this, buyers are buying, and sellers are selling. Life continues, and the property market continues to function as it should in these circumstances. Why? Because people will always need to move for several reasons, and the UK is still a fabulous place in which to buy a property.
Andrew Granger & Co has knowledgeable sales teams across Leicestershire, based in offices in Market Harborough, Leicester, and Loughborough. If you would like property advice or to book a free market appraisal you can find out more at www.andrewgranger.co.uk.
