August Market Report. Local property news for you...
The distractions of school summer holidays traditionally bring a dip in prices, as some buyers put their home-moving plans on hold to enjoy holidays or time with family. This also means that new sellers who do come to market at this quieter time of year may have a pressing need to sell, which means they tend to price more competitively. However, summer sellers this year may find a degree of buyer buzz around the market that was missing in the peak mortgage-rate market at this time last year.
“The first Bank Rate cut since 2020 has sparked a welcome late summer boost in buyer activity. While mortgage rates aren’t yet substantially lower since the rate cut, the fact that the long-hoped-for first cut has finally arrived, and mortgage rates are heading downwards, is positive for home-mover sentiment. As the summer holiday season ends, the conditions are there for a more active autumn market. The reaction from home movers to what is hopefully only the first of several rate cuts over the next year or two, combined with other positive data and trends, has led us to raise our price prediction for the year. We now expect new seller prices to rise marginally by 1% over the whole of 2024. This is a relatively small revision from our original prediction of a 1% fall in prices over the year, since we didn’t initially forecast anything more drastic than a slight drop in prices this year.” Tim Bannister Rightmove’s Director of Property Science
Economy
The Bank of England has delivered its first interest rate cut in more than four years, taking the rate to 5%.
Monthly GDP is estimated to have shown no growth in June 2024, following growth of 0.4% in May 2024 (ONS). CPI inflation rose by 2.2% in the 12 months to July 2024, up from 2.0% in June 2024 (ONS).
Prices
The average price for a property in June was £287,924, up 2.7% year-on-year (ONS). UK buyers are currently paying 96.8% of the asking price, up from 95.4% last November (Zoopla).
The average price of property coming to the market for sale sees a seasonal drop of 1.5% this month (-£5,708) to £367,785. New seller asking prices have fallen in August for the past 18 years, and the size of this month’s drop is in line with the long-term average. (Rightmove)
“The Bank of England’s Base Rate cut, which follows recent reductions in mortgage rates, is
encouraging for those looking to remortgage, purchase a first home or move along the housing
ladder" “Against the backdrop of lower mortgage rates and potential further Base Rate reductions, we anticipate house prices to continue a modest upward trend throughout the remainder of this year.” (Halifax)
Bristol
Demand
There were 59,976 mortgage approvals in June which is 12% higher than a year ago and similar (-0.3%) to the previous month (Bank of England).
The reading of new buyer enquiries in the latest RICS Residential Market Survey was +2%, up from -6% last time. The number of new sellers coming to market is a steady 3% above last year (Rightmove).
Transactions
There were 91,370 transactions in June, an 8% rise compared to a year earlier (HMRC).
The agreed sales metric in the latest RICS' survey posted a net balance of -2% this month, a slight improvement compared to the more downbeat readings of -13% and -6% posted in May and June respectively. The number of sales being agreed is 16% higher than a year ago (Zoopla).
Investment/lettings
Letting agents are receiving 17 enquiries for every rental property, over double the 8 this time in 2019 (Rightmove). Our teams say it is at least double this enquiry rate in Bristol.
The average UK rent rose by 0.7% in July to £1,308, 5.2% higher than the same time last year (HomeLet).
The average void period shortened from 17 days in June to just 11 days in July - a reduction of 35% (Goodlord).
We hope that was useful and informative. As always, our teams are here to help, get in touch with any questions about your local property market, and to discuss your home move considerations.
If securing a new mortgage or arranging a re-mortgage is important for you right now, click here to book an online consultation, our mortgage brokers are independent, and their services are free to you.
Finally, if you are (understandably) confused by some of the mixed market reporting, not least by some of the more sensational news reporting each month, click here for some independent insight into how House Price Indexes are compiled.
Sources: Rightmove, Zoopla, On the Market, Dataloft, Land Registry, National House Price Index, DLUHC
Contact your nearest office if you have any questions about your local property market.
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