Current UK property market status
The UK property market at the moment for the first time in a long time seems pretty stagnant or actually even house prices seem to be going down. What could the reason be for this? House prices over the last few years have done nothing but increase. Could it be the uncertainty with Brexit and all that is involved? I think no one really knows what is happening with Brexit for sure, there was even talk of another referendum not too long ago! So more than likely people are uncertain whether the time is right to buy or sell and are thinking just best to stay out in their houses for now, maybe then see next year how it all goes once the actual Brexit deal is done and we are out of the EU completely. So I feel the uncertainty will continue into next year and may take a while to settle down.
People seem to be concentrating on doing home improvements instead therefore. Extensions, driveways, patios, gardens and the increasing outside ‘log cabins’ or ‘man caves’ seem to be popping up a lot. Recently I have seen a lot of building works going on in and around the houses where I live. Builders must be thinking this is great for them, keep the uncertainty going a bit longer…However, this in turn must be great for the economy as we are therefore going to see a rise in the need for skilled workers and unemployment will then fall, people will learn skills in manual labour more maybe as people had tended to go more towards careers in computers or office based jobs in recent years.
Recently interest rates have gone up for the first time in many years, meaning that although for savers this is great, it is not so for home owners or those trying to get onto the property ladder as that means more to pay for those with a mortgage. So this may also be a contributing factor. At the moment as the country is in so much uncertainty especially for businesses, houses are taking a lot longer than they normally would to sell and are staying on the market. People then change their minds and decide there is no point selling as even if they had found a house they like, they wouldn’t be able to buy it as their house has not sold, so that means another that stays on the market and therefore that vicious property chain and circle continues. Hence as I said at the moment it seems no one is buying or selling, DIY and home improvements it is. Would be interesting to her your comments and views on this. Have you recently decided to put your home on the market and had no offers at all, or even no views at all? Have you therefore decided to stay put or are you going to keep the house on the market and just wait, someone will buy it?