New Year New Home - a look ahead to the property market in 2023
We hope you have been able to enjoy a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year with friends and family. After the disruption of the last two years, time to recharge without restrictions was much needed. Let's take a look at how we think the market will perform this year.
The end of one year and the start of another has also become a time of reflection for many homeowners. Traffic to Rightmove peaks between Boxing Day and New Year. Most couples find themselves at home for two weeks over the festive period, a time to consider whether their home is too big, too small, too expensive to run, or even if they want to start a new chapter by moving to a new area. We expect to see some homeowners downsize, releasing equity to help their adult children onto the housing ladder, or to move onto their second, larger home at a time where mortgage rates might have prevented them from being able to do so without this financial help. We also expect to see couples buying together perhaps for the first time, and sadly the opposite, where homeowners decide to go their separate ways.
The past two years have given us Brexit, Covid 19, social distancing, political instability at government level and a disastrous mini budget in September which set the financial markets on a downward spiral and prompted a rapid increase in interest and mortgage rates. After a sustained period of rapid house price inflation, the housing market now appears to be on a path back to normality. You may not sell for the dizzying prices which some properties achieved in the middle of last year, but neither will you pay an eye-watering price for the next one.
Rightmove have issued their forecast for 2023 and have predicted the average asking price to drop by 2% which means prices will remain higher than they were after the incredibly busy home moving period of 2021. After the uncertainty brought about by interest rate rises and high inflation, we are seeing signs that some buyers are ready to get started with their home moves as we head further into the New Year. Rightmove report views of homes for sale in December were up 11% when compared to the same period in 2021, suggesting that 2023 moves are on the cards for those who can do so.
We still have buyers who moved into rented during the frenetic activity of 2021 and early 2022, who need to find a suitable home. We have seen mortgage rates stabilise and, in some cases, drop from the initial increases after the Truss government’s Autumn Statement which unsettled the market so much and each of our offices has seen a very healthy number of enquiries, advice meetings, new properties coming to the market and requests to view since Christmas and New Year.
At Perry Bishop we are very experienced in helping you move in all types of market conditions. You can rely on us to provide honest advice, tailored to your individual circumstances, and backed up by professional market research. We will adopt our 11 Step Plan to ensure you secure the best buyer at the best price. Learn the secrets of our structured plan and marketing strategy for achieving this. Developed and honed after years of successfully selling thousands of properties across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The Plan is implemented for every property we sell and really does work, achieving on average a sale price of an additional 2% more for our clients.
Best wishes
Sarah Benson
Director