Is our desire for a holiday in the sun affecting house prices?
When it comes to getting our travel legs back post-pandemic, this year has certainly seen us returning to our jet-setting norms.
According to the Office of National Statistics {ONS}, UK residents made 5.6 million visits overseas this April compared with 260,000 visits by air in April last year. Travel chaos has been covered extensively in the press, but this has not halted our desire for some fun in the sun.
But, as frantic as the property market has been in recent months, as soon as the school holidays started, buyers and sellers seem to have become distracted, with their priorities switching to enjoying their summer months and putting their home-move plans one hold until autumn.
Has our desire for a holiday in the sun this year affected house prices?
Is it due to tradition?
Rightmove’s latest House Price Index was released a few days ago, with some fascinating data regarding the current property market.
According to their research, for the first time this year we have seen the average price of a property coming onto the market fall by 1.3%. This does follow the traditional trend of a drop in prices in August and is on a par with the 1.3% over the last ten years.
One thing that we have noticed with sellers who are wishing to complete their move before Christmas is that they are keen to market their home competitively. Autumn is a time when buyers and sellers are conscious about timescales: there is a huge desire to not be moving too close to Christmas and yet wishing to be in their new home for the holidays. In a move to entice the most suitable buyer, they are very conscious of the sale price presented in a hope they can complete under the current average number of days to completion of 136.
Are interest rates playing a part?
The cost-of-living crisis is seeing every family take stock and monitor their spending, and the announcement of yet another interest rate rise, the sixth consecutive, sees the rate now stand at 1.75%. There is no doubt this will be on the minds of home movers as they analyse what they can afford to borrow and, more importantly, repay each month. In the property market, there remains a divide between supply and demand, and it is this that is having the largest influence on asking prices.
Although, according to Rightmove’s House Price Index, buyer demand this month is 4% lower than 2021, it is still 20% higher than seen in 2019. The number of new properties coming onto the market continues to increase, with figures showing a 12% rise on the same period last year. The interest rate rise doesn’t seem to have made buyers nervous either, as the number of buyer enquiries has, in the most part, stayed the same, demonstrating their commitment to move home regardless of the rate rises.
Getting serious
As the calendar dates get crossed off and the ‘back to school’ reality returns we expect a rise in the number of people within Wokingham seeking to move home. Predictions suggest that house prices may start to fall this autumn, although there have been no obvious signs this has started, and our local property market remains robust.
There are steps you can take to ensure you place yourself in a strong position - for an honest and constructive conversation please contact Nick or Teresa at Quarters Residential Estate Agents on 0118 466 0292 (call or WhatsApp) – we’re here to help!
