Clarkes Properties Ltd are hopeful that the economic recession is behind us and that the UK Property Market has completed it's soft landing from it's peak in Nov 2022 to the bottom in November 2023. SOLD PRICES have more or less been level this year although the VOLUME OF SALES is down on previous years as buyers struggle with higher interest rates.
Steve McCullough, Director, has been reporting to Investors and Developers recently. "The Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole market has strong demand from buyers within and outside the district. However being one of the more expensive areas outside London affordability remains an issue especially for local residents. The district has an imbalance of stock with a high supply of flats and low supply of semi detached and terraced houses. Smaller houses and bungalows under £350,000 have shown greater price resilience at the expense of flats up to £275,000. Sellers of larger detached property over £600,000 have been forced to wait for buyers to climb the ladder in difficult conditions."
Steve believes the outlook now is very positive as demand continues to back up across the district and sellers compete with reduced asking prices. "All eyes are on the mortgage market and as soon as affordability imrpoves we know buyers will not hesitate to take advantage. Affordability can ofcourse be affected by the wider economy especially inflation and taxation but the biggest impact is coming from the mortgage market. Buyers have faced higher monthly mortgage costs of around £500pm over the last 2 years which naturally takes all their focus. The financial markets are expecting incomes to improve and in turn support more consumer spending, while investors will also benefit from improved conditions. Inflation is now looking much more positive especially for food and energy prices and I expect it to return to the 2% target".
So that only leaves the Bank of England Base Rate with one way to go ..... down. And ofcourse mortgage rates will follow, affordability will improve and pent up demand will be released into the market. Steve McCullough said "for my own investments I'm planning for a 0.25% drop in the base rate in September and a further 0.25% drop by December. Plus a further 1% drop in 2025. I'm hoping to see the average 2 year fixed mortgage rate (75% LTV) drop from 6% now to 4.5% next year."
For a free no obligation chat with Steve McCullough or any of our property experts please call 01202 533377 or e-mail enquiries@clarkesproerties.co.uk
https://www.clarkesproperties.co.uk/meet-the-team/
