A leading housing expert has claimed that property owners could witness the value of their homes dipping by more than £50,000 after Christmas.
With the Lloyds Bank Group forecasting a potential 18% fall in property prices next year, Jonathan Rolande, the founder of property firm House Buy Fast, believes that many regions could witness falls of that scale.
“An 18% fall would knock £54,000 off the price of an average UK property that’s currently £300,000. Will it happen? It might. There’s no doubt we are in a bad place right now. We have rising variable interest rates, and we are still dealing with the disastrous repercussions from the mini-budget that have pushed up long-term borrowing costs, inflation, sky-high food and fuel,” he said.
“Economies worldwide are feeling similar pain. And on top of that property prices here are at an all-time high with plenty of scope to fall.”
He said it was a perfect storm of events, making it easy to see why the Bank is predicting a large drop.
“But it’s not yet a done deal. Prices are sure to wobble, but some regions may just tough it out,” he added.
Rolande, who is also a spokesman for the National Association of Property Buyers, added: “In many places, there’s a genuine shortage of property, and this won’t go away if prices fall. People need to live somewhere, and they may need to rent, which will in turn push up sale prices as landlords feel secure buying an investment.”
He argued that interest rates are still lower than in previous dips, and that overseas investors are still keen to come here - even more so given the weakness of the pound recently.
“The Bank of England looks set to increase rates again and ironically this could help settle the markets and make borrowing a little cheaper, longer term,” Rolande continued, before stating the importance of strong leadership from No 10. “Rishi Sunak’s policies now are vital. They could, at least in the short to medium term, get things back on track. But more than ever we must assess the market on an almost weekly basis.!
He concluded: “Lloyds are quite right to plan for the worst, but there are also reasons to hope for the best. The weeks as we approach Christmas are going to be crucial as to what 2023 will deliver in terms of house prices.”
/LizTruss-400x310.png)
/RishiSunak-400x310.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
%20(002).png)
.png){kind=logo}
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
Anyone that prints or contributes to negative articles about house price drops are in themselves making it more likely to happen, and for some like Lloyds, they would profit very nicely from it hence they proactively try and talk the market down.
If you dont however want it to happen, best just to keep your own council. If even one buyer reading this decides to delay their purchase becasue of it, then that has contributed to what will become a self fullfilling prophesy.
Markets are about confidence stupid, as James Carson might have advised Bill Clinton.
Sorry, but I can't agree. By your way of thinking, no negative articles would ever be written about anything just in case it affected something or other.
It's like blaming the media for Brexit failures or the tanking of a new film. Some headlines might be a bit sensationalist, but that wasn't the case before Truss/Kwarteng nearly crashed the economy. So, if you're looking for someone to blame, I'd lay your ire at them, rather than Lloyds or anyone else.
I agree though! MSM can talk up a storm these days. We should just keep calm and carry on. The housing market has gone through market turbulence many times and bounced back. This is not a time for knee jerk reactions! If you are exposed because of rising interest rates and volatile housing market, do something. If you are not, then continue with your plans.
After a long life and buying and selling a few properties little has changed. Just watch the deals you can have, above all learn maths properly. Avoid shared ownership and schemes like that as you would the plague. Same for ground rents. Just let inflation do the rest. Always look after your properties and make totally sure you have a good credit rating. That makes a huge difference during hard times.
News people have a fantastic ability to magnify the trials and tribulations of a very few.
Please login to comment