But what is happening on the ground, how are house prices changing and how can we expect the market to evolve? Gary Jeffries, Partner at Vail Williams, discusses.
A sliding trend
Recent events have undoubtedly led to greater economic uncertainty. However, house prices have been largely flat since June, up by around £250. This compares to a rise of more than £10,000 during the previous quarter, suggesting that the housing market has already entered a more sustained period of slower growth.
At the start of Autumn (September), the average UK house price fell slightly (-0.1%), the second marginal decrease over the past three months, with the cost of a typical home edging down to £293,835 from the previous month’s record high of £293,992.
However, this rose in October by 0.9%. Despite asking prices rising slightly, the annual rate of growth is set to continue to slow.
October saw growth slow for the fourth month in a row, falling to 7.8% (Rightmove) – a figure which may not yet reflect the full impact of rapidly rising interest rates or the recent economic turmoil, according to Rightmove.
This downward trend was also reflected in the latest RICS Residential Market Survey, which showed a decrease in residential demand and sales.
The net balance score for new buying enquiries was -39%, compared to -26% previously – the fourth consecutive month in negative territory, meanwhile agreed sales showed a net balance of -22% (-13% previously) and new instructions returned a net balance score of -15% (previously -6%).