What has been, what is and what will be. This time of year is always filled with memories, regrets, resolutions and predictions. What we did or didn’t do and how we will improve or maintain on what we have or want. When it comes to past and present it’s fairly easy to see what we could or should have done and how things finally panned out. Thoughts of what is ahead of us are less certain and always come with a sprinkling of optimism or pessimism.
Looking back at the property market, we knew that the boom would have to slow down. We just couldn’t say when. Predictions throughout the year ranged from the optimistic (it’s going to slow but houses prices always rise don’t they?) to the pessimistic (the crash is imminent, recession is upon us and prices will drop by 30%).
Regular readers will know that we were expecting a slow down and a return to a normal market. Properties fairly priced will sell and some degree of negotiation would return to marketed prices. The raise in interest rates and the levels of inflation saw to that. However, the hope (however optimistic it may have seemed) was that a healthy market would remain. Thankfully this seems to be the predictions across the industry.
Rightmove’s latest figures released have confirmed what we all knew had happened. On average, since December 2019, the average house price across Britain has risen by 20%. This is a staggering figure seen as the previous three years only saw a rise of 3%. The settling of the market is shown in a smaller, but by no means insignificant, rise of 5.6% across 2022. However, they are suggesting a small drop in average prices over 2023 of 2%. Still an 18% rise in 4 years is still some investment (if only we all had an extra one to sell!)
Buyer affordability will have a say in the market but, with stock levels still relatively low, availability will offset significant reductions. Negotiability has returned, pre-pandemic markets are reflected in post-pandemic normality. The end is not nigh and the world still turns.
If you are thinking of selling your home why not come and speak to one of our local experts or arrange a FREE and no obligation valuation where we can talk you through the market and answer any questions you may have.