Date Published 04 October 2024
Landlords who are thinking about leaving the rental property business will be happy to hear that Zoopla announced today that low mortgage rates the lowest in 15 months are helping to increase property sales in the UK. Sales and buyer demand have increased by over 25% in the past four weeks compared to a year ago. This is because many households who have been delaying their moving decisions for the past two years are now entering the market; the number of sales agreed upon is 25% more than it was last year.
Sales have increased by more than 10% in all regions with a significant increase of up to 30% in the East Midlands and North-East. More and more homes are being put up for sale because sellers are feeling more confident, this includes homeowners who want to move because mortgage rates are going down as well as investors and second home owners who are selling because of tax changes. One out of every three (32%) homes listed for sale on the website are currently being sold without any chain of transactions as investors and second home owners are trying to sell their properties due to recent tax changes and rumours about more tax changes in the upcoming October Budget. The most popular type of homes without a chain are 2-bedroom houses with 41% of them currently listed as chain-free on Zoopla. In the past homes that were rented before are now making up 13% of the homes available for sale on Zoopla.
The cost of buying a house is still holding back the growth of house prices especially in the south of England. London prices have experienced a significant change in the past year going from a yearly decrease of 1%, the price increase has slowed down from 7% last year to a small 0% gain; today's discount is 5%. House prices in some parts of England like the South West South East and Eastern regions are lower than they were a year ago, but in other areas of Great Britain house prices have gone up compared to last year with some prices increasing by up to 2%. The website predicts that having more options for people looking to buy homes will help prevent house prices from rising too quickly in the coming months. Many of the new listings are from people who own homes and want to sell them in order to buy a different home. However, not all houses are completely new to the market. One out of every five homes currently up for sale was listed for sale at least once in the past two years. While the market is getting better, it's crucial to choose the right price to make sure you get buyers interested. The same goes for one-fifth of the houses that are still unsold after being on the market for over six months. This is why many sellers have lowered their prices by up to 5% to attract buyers who are still careful about how much they spend even though there are more options available.
Reduced mortgage rates are making homeowners feel more confident especially those who have been hesitant to make decisions in the past two years. Zoopla's Richard Donnell said that market activity is increasing overall and people are expecting borrowing costs to go down. This is attracting more buyers and sellers to the market. Experts are still talking about how potential tax changes in the Budget and past tax changes are making more homes available for sale. "We are currently in a buyer's market which means there are more houses for sale. This will help prevent house prices from going up too quickly until 2025."
If you decide to look into selling your property, please feel free to contact Adams Estates whom have a dedicated and experienced team more than happy to assist.
