UK Housing Market Stirs from its Slumber

Posted by Knight Frank Newcastle on 15th March 2023 -

The further we get from the mini-Budget, the more things improve in the UK housing market.

Property prices and transaction volumes are not about to surge, but it’s increasingly clear the market is not heading over a cliff.

Mortgage rates spiked after September’s mini-Budget, causing the market to effectively shut down early for Christmas. While mortgage approvals in December and January were predictably weak, that was never likely to set the tone for the rest of the year.

We expect the housing market will be solid but not spectacular in 2023 and further evidence of this came last week.

UK house price growth

First, Halifax said UK prices grew by 2.1% in the year to February after a monthly rise of 1.1%. It wasn’t the first piece of economic data to defy expectations this year.

Two days later, the RICS survey pointed to a more stable market in 2023. Its latest measure of demand was the “least negative result since July 2022”, which nicely encapsulated the current mood of ambiguity ahead of the traditionally busy spring season.

The true test for the market will come over the next few months and based on the current figures, it is likely to pass.

Continue to read on the Knight Frank website

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