Will housing prices continue to rise? If there is one thing that we are certain of at this time, it is that everyone is uncertain of what is around the corner. Everything is speculation and no one is truly prepared for what can come.

Look at the past two years as an example – nobody thought as soon as the clocks turned midnight on December 31st 2019 that our lives would see a global pandemic, a war, political upheaval, a recession and the changing of the monarchy in just two years among every other upheaval we have faced. No one could have predicted the dramatic ups and downs in the housing market either – and we continue to be uncertain about what is truly in store.

Optimistic Viewpoint

Jonathan Rolande, director of the National Association of Property Buyers, has however pointed to signs that many parts of the UK could still record increases up to 5% up through next year, despite concerns over the economic downturn and forecasts of 10% house price falls in 2023.

Rising interest rates, inflation, a cost of living crisis and drastic mortgage cuts may amount to the perfect storm which typically leads to a house price crash, but in the face of such factors prices are continuing to hold firm.

Areas in the north and regions of the Midlands are showing signs of prices still going up, with the ongoing lack of supply driving it, as well as the rental sector crisis. With people not able to afford rental contracts, many are continuing to save and put attention on buying, continuing to put sellers in a strong position.

5% Rises

Rolande estimates that rises of around 5% will be present over the next 6 months, although there are clear differences between this and the 1990s crash that left many with negative equity.

As of right now, there is still money to borrow whereas 2008 didn’t have any. Rates at 6% are more expensive yet nowhere near the 10% and more highs of the 1990s. Also of note is that commentators discussing slowdowns are not looking at the entire picture, where the past few years have seen double-digit rises every month in the market. This is not sustainable and destined to have ended at some point.

Smaller rises in property prices will help to boost chances for those wanting to get on the housing ladder, especially matched with government policy to support first-time buyers.

Keep Up to Date

Will housing prices continue to rise? No matter how things pan out in the next six months, estate agents Stockport still have their work cut out for them as much as those looking to buy property in Stockport. Contact the team at Joules Estate Agents today for all enquiries on how to sell a house and buying a property advice.

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Whilst mortgage products took a bit of a dip ahead of the mini-budget, optimism for the housing market is still strong as it continues to hold healthy.

Harder for Providers

Following the Chancellor’s problematic mini-budget, mortgage lenders started withdrawing rates amid the rising cost of wholesale funding and economic uncertainty, which made it harder for providers to price their products.

This initially fueled further fears that the market was on a downturn, concerned about first-time buyers not being able to pass affordability assessments or interest rate stress tests. Homeowners remortgaging or moving home with new deals were also deemed destined to struggle in paying comparatively higher rates than they currently do.

This pointed to several attractive mortgage deals tumbling being a bitter taste to swallow for intended movers and those with ending fixed-terms, destined to impact buyer budgets that are already stretching themselves thin.

Still Healthy Market

However, the data points to the housing market still moving along very healthily, with the number of sales agreed last week being the highest number in a single day since August.

Demand from buyers sending leads to agents and developers was only down 3 per cent compared with other weeks in the month, while 1.6% of all properties were reduced each day. It is the same level of reductions as earlier in the month with fall-throughs remaining in line with all of September.

On a longer-term look, buyer demand over September was 20% higher than the pre-pandemic five-year average. New sellers are up 8% on 2019 levels and asking prices are currently 15% higher than two years ago. The number of sales agreed last week reaching its highest number in a day could be attributed to people rushing to get their mortgage before rates rose even further.

Surprisingly Relient

September’s activity highlights that the market has been surprisingly resilient against the rising rates, with those who can move to be able to go ahead as it stands. Whilst buyer demand has softened in the last few months, buyer demand remains 20% higher than the five-year average, with the number of homes going through conveyancing being 40% higher than in 2019.

The demand for housing is not due to fall off of a cliff anytime soon, but its stability is still good news for those deciding on how to sell a house against those looking to buy property in Stockport.

The current circumstances will no doubt impact some intentional buyers in a big way, and much hinges on the extent to which interest rates rise and how new and far-reaching unemployment levels begin to climb. This may mean that first-time buyers can begin to get a good foothold helped by the recent stamp duty adjustment.

Contact the team at Joules estate agents Stockport today for more information on buying property advice.

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It is hard to fathom, but here we are now living in a whole new England. With the loss of Queen Elizabeth II and the appointment of a King for the first time in our lives, the landscape of the UK has completely changed.

Dramatic Shift

Over the past two years, we have seen so many dramatic changes to the country – none higher in volume than the housing market shift, from record sales to low supply. We saw people who could never afford a home able to get their first property and people upscale to homes with more space.

With promises of more stock coming to market in the future, the other area that is seeing a spike in interest is in the green property sector – with some hunters willing to pay 25% more to secure one. Forget the race for space – this is the keener for greener.

Willing to Pay

According to research conducted by Admiral Money, buyers are currently willing to pay up to a quarter more for properties that have a decent energy performance certificate rating. Influenced by energy-saving features within a home, buyers are actively seeking homes with an EPC rating of C or higher.

The EPC concerns are at the forefront of buyer’s minds, with 67% wanting to see the EPC tasting of a property before purchasing and a further 35% feeling off put on older properties that are not energy efficient,

Environmentally friendly and greener features are boosting property value in the majority of cases, mostly up to 25%,

Green Keywords

Agreed sales prices on properties across 13 cities featuring homes that featured green keywords such as solar, heat pumps, insulation, triple glazing, low carbon, and hive have been viewed as the best investments for sellers against similar homes that don’t have these features.

Solar panels have been the leading interest for buyers willing to shell out the additional 25% rise, with insulation being the second most valued keyword. Heat pumps also have been revealed to increase property value by up to 10%. The green appeal is due to increase in homes as the years progress, with many sellers now looking into areas which will make their properties more appealing and worth much more than the asking price to buyers.

It is encouraging to see the plans for homes being taken so seriously with eco-friendly options, with this specific area of demand providing an increase in the property market whilst stock is still in desperate need.

To buy property in Stockport or get advice on how to sell a house, contact the team at Joules estate agents Stockport today.

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Last week, confirmation of an immediate stamp duty cut look to mean delayed sales can finally be complete. However, the immediate talk following has been focused on the reduction and the Government’s mini-budget and how it should have gone further.

Described as a ‘growth plan’, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng increased at what point stamp duty is charged on property purchases from £125,000 to £250,000 for home movers. The first-time buyer threshold will increase from £300,000 to £425,000 and can be used on purchases worth up to £625,000.

Sigh of Relief

Naturally, this much-rumoured stamp duty cut confirmation comes as a huge sigh of relief for agents and conveyancers when introduced last week, covering concerns that buyers about to complete transactions had last week.

Within an hour of the announcement, online traffic for homes jumped by 10%. The rise of the threshold to £250,000 has now exempted a third of all homes currently listed for sale in England, including those looking to buy property in Stockport. This is up from 7% when the threshold was £125,000.

This has now resulted in two-thirds of homes across the nation now being fully exempt from the property tax for first-time buyers in the UK.

Positive Step

The Treasury revealed that doubling the nil-rate band enables up to 29,000 more people to move home within the year, with the increased threshold for first-time buyers giving them even more options. First-time buyers purchasing a property at £400,000 would save £5,000 on Stamp Duty. the saving increases to £11,250 for first-time buyers on a property at £600,000.

The savings are smaller for homeowners at £2,500 for a £400,000 or £600,000 purchase.

These cuts are proving great for first-time buyers but have left other groups such as downsizers feeling a bit left out in the cold. Whilst the rebalancing of the thresholds for which Stamp Duty is paid for first-time buyers is long overdue, the landscape for downsizers and last-time movers also could have been reviewed to release the latter part of the market.

This would unblock the standstill for second-steppers and first-time buyers instead of causing stagnation for buyers with nothing to move to.

Still on the Slate

Whilst the implementation of an immediate and permanent reduction means that existing transactions will suffer no unruly delays and the benefits can be felt early, the shortage of supply, raising interest rates and the cost of a five-year fixed-mortgage tripling over the last year will still play a large hand for those looking to buy property in Stockport and exploring avenues on how to sell a house.

Contact the team at Joules estate agents Stockport today for updated information on available property in the northwest.

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You no doubt have heard all of the reports of an impending market crash in the housing sector, mostly people predicting that it will happen soon. The truth is that the crash is a long way off from happening to the market, but the sellers wanting to sell a home are now becoming more realistic.

No Drastic Sign

As agents and property professionals slug through their debate over the potential housing market downturn and what advice they should be providing to clients, there are no signs that the market will return to those 1990s drastic states.

In those previous periods, the clear sign of a market crash would be receiving keys through the office letter box with notes requesting an immediate valuation. At this stage, we are nowhere in that state of emergency with the current market.

True, we are seeing signs of a turning tide for the property market in the UK, but to predict a crash is still way too early as supply remains tight and is continuing to underpin the market. The sentiment among sellers, however, has seen a change with them becoming more realistic around their pricing.

Listen to the Agent

Sellers are now realising that they need to listen to what their agents are telling them regarding pricing if they want to sell their property. With looming interest rate hikes, the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and bloated media reports about an impending crash are bringing more stock to the market with more and more sellers realising that their pricing has to be more based on realism.

Now we are seeing more increases in activity from buyers wanting to capitalise on this, especially around people wanting to buy property in Stockport and surrounding rural areas. As rents and hotel prices increase rapidly over the last few months and are set to increase further, it is expected that buyers will see more value in the new build market especially, with the weak pound bolstering the market as foreign parties look to capitalise on discounts through exchange rates.

Good Advice Pays Off

Good advice always pays off and when it comes to the housing market, your sound advice and guidance always come from independent estate agents Stockport. Not only are they the sound voice of reason on buying a property advice, but also around all avenues of how to sell a house and advice on renting a property.

With the need for stabilising the marketplace with realistic thinking, estate agents Stockport should be the one voice where sellers take their most valued decision-making plans.

To sell a home, contact the team at Joules Estate Agents today for all advice on the housing market from buying to selling.

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No doubt about it, moving home is extremely stressful. Today, it has become even more stressful due to the national shortage of available properties. Not only has this held up first-time buyers and people looking to a buying a property – but those looking to move out of their current homes are being deterred also.

Affecting Homebuyers

The increased stress and length of time it currently takes with property transactions is affecting 9 out of 10 homebuyers, with the respondents describing the process of moving home stressful and the length of time it takes to complete just as frustrating as the lack of certainty and waiting for exchange and completion dates.

Over the last six months, the average completion time was 153 days – the equivalent of 5 months – in comparison to the 124 days it usually took pre-pandemic.

Homeowners have since documented that they find it unlikely that they would move again within the next 5 years due to the experience, with most over-55s deciding that they would rather stay put in their current home. This may result in many people being left in homes that may rapidly become unsuitable for their later life plans.

Different Strategies

When quizzed on what they would do differently when moving home next time, 45% of people said they would save more money aside, and 19% claimed they would use more independent estate agents or soliciting firms.

New instructions have seen a rise by 36% and buyers have been accepting of paying more to move, with legal fees rising to 11% on average. Homebuyer surveys cost £525 on average, up from £465 the previous year.

This means that potential homeowners are paying almost £2000 in associated costs – money wasted if transactions fall through. That’s why it’s so important to instruct a reputable estate agent like Joules!

Potential Solutions

Home moving can be one of the most stressful experiences that people can endure, a fact that few would be quick to argue. One in three home buying transactions should not be falling through, representing tens of thousands of hopes for a home dashed and incredible sums of money lost. Creating more certainty around property transactions is therefore essential and may require legislative reform to protect buyers and sellers once offers have been accepted.

For those looking at buying a property or buy property in Stockport and the surrounding rural areas, frustration is high but the outlook is promising for people looking at how to sell a house in the area. For more information on properties throughout the Stockport area, contact the team at Joules estate agents Stockport.

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