July 2022 Market Comment David James. Helping You Make Better-Informed Property Decisions.

July 2022 Market Comment David James

Helping You Make Better-Informed Property Decisions.

Welcome to the July 2022 property market comment.

The recent political turbulence we have all witnessed, with dozens of ministerial resignations, which eventually brought down our Prime Minister, would throw other countries into disarray. But not the UK it seems – in fact we have become quite used to political farce, to the extent that we just keep calm and carry on!

And this certainly applies to the property market too. Despite the fact that we are mid-summer, we’ve had some interest rate rises and expect more to follow, the cost of living continues to rise sharply, and there is global instability, the market remains incredibly resilient. There is simply not enough property available for the number of buyers looking. In fact, last month, average annual house price growth was recorded as a whopping 13% by the Halifax – the highest since 2004.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest that this rate of growth simply can’t be sustained and that it may be peaking - that’s the rate of growth peaking, not actual house prices, which are predicted to rise for the foreseeable future, but possibly at a slower rate than previously.

The effect of this is that more sellers are now coming to market, with valuation enquiries up about 25% on this time last year and new stock increasing by about 14% (source: Rightmove).

This is exactly the lubrication the market’s been hoping for – as it gives buyers and sellers alike the choice they need. There has previously been a reluctance from some sellers to come to market as they were concerned about finding their next property. That brake on the market is now being released and we expect the rest of this year to continue apace. The key now is not to get stuck with an overly-ambitious asking price at a time when buyers have a few more options available to them.