Dose of realism amid positive signs for property market

TOM Bill, Head of UK Residential Research at Knight Frank, brings some better news about the housing market this week.

He says that despite a 20 per cent drop in trading volumes, more positive signs have begun to emerge.

Most notably, inflation fell by more than expected, declining to 4.6 per cent from 6.7 per cent.

Underlying inflation, which has been driven by a strong jobs market, also beat expectations by cooling to 5.7 per cent.

Plus, the cheapest five-year fixed-rate mortgages have fallen from just over five per cent to almost 4.5 per cent in two months.

Mr Bill says this is good news for anyone buying or re-mortgaging and according to Goldman Sachs, the Bank of England may even start cutting interest rates as soon as next February.

However, those selling their homes still need to be realistic with their pricing.

According to Quick Move Now, on average, homeowners are currently valuing their own properties 15 per cent higher than estate agents’ valuations.

Danny Luke, Quick Move Now’s managing director, said: “In 2022, homeowners were overvaluing by an average of 11 per cent.

Now they are overvaluing by an average of 15 per cent. This growing inaccuracy suggests homeowners are struggling to keep up with the declining market.”

In this weekend’s Property Post we tell the story of a hidden away former wartime airbase near Bishopthorpe in York. The site lay derelict but remarkably many of its abandoned buildings remain and some have been converted into fabulous new homes.

Also this week, we focus on a beautiful home for sale near Whitby. It comes with an annexe and lovely gardens. Our feature above reveals why renting in the suburbs is set to become much more popular.