The housing market remains uncertain heading into 2023, but there’s some optimism among homeowners and first-time buyers, particularly as one developer has launched an innovative new scheme. Read on to find out the latest.
While house prices fell towards the end of 2022 (see below) and are expected to continue falling in 2023, there was at least some positive news to start the year for potential sellers!
Property portal, Rightmove, has reported the biggest New Year bounce since 2020, with average prices rising by 0.9% according to their data.
And while there’s usually an increase in demand in January, the figures still make for positive reading for sellers, as there’s been a surge in demand from potential buyers too. Rightmove has reported a 55% jump in the number of people contacting estate agents about homes listed on the site in the first two weeks of the year.
This is coupled with an increase in the number of homes entering the market, as the company has also reported that the 5th January was the third busiest day ever for homeowners asking estate agents to value their home.
High-interest rates and the rising cost of living contributed to a fall in house prices for a fourth consecutive month in December. Figures released by the major lender, Halifax, showed a 1.5% decrease in the average asking price, which now stands at £281,272.
However, while there’s traditionally a seasonal slowdown in December, the fall wasn’t as sharp as expected, and was lower than November’s drop of 2.4%.
On an annual basis, prices grew by 2% compared with December 2021, representing the slowest year-on-year growth since October 2019.
And while the market slowed significantly towards the end of 2022, average prices still remain way above pre-Covid levels, and so far the start of 2023 is looking similar to the starts of 2016, 2017, and 2018, although some forecasters are predicting a 10% drop in 2023.
Figures released by the Bank of England suggest that mortgage approval levels have fallen to their lowest level in two years.
Just over 46,000 mortgages were approved in November – a drop from October’s figure of 58,000, as would-be homebuyers have been increasingly put off by rising interest rates and cost of living pressures.
The slump is expected to continue as uncertainty takes hold of the market and the cost of living continues to be volatile.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that rental rates increased by 4% on average in 2022 – the fastest rise since records began seven years ago.
A quarter of private tenants surveyed in December said their rent had risen in the previous six months, as many landlords have passed on the increases they’ve faced on their buy-to-let mortgage rates.
The ONS figures also showed that renters pay significantly more on their living costs than homeowners, with their weekly expenditure on housing accounting for 24% of their income – 8% higher than those with a mortgage.
An innovative scheme by one leading home developer could pave the way for thousands of renters to get onto the property ladder.
The initiative, set up by new homes developer, Fairview, will see all of the money paid by tenants in rent be put towards the deposit for their home.
Under the scheme, rent is paid at a fixed cost for between six months and two years, but instead of going to a landlord, the money will be set aside until the renters have a big enough deposit to obtain a mortgage on the property.
At that point, they can go through the usual mortgage application process and buy the home they’ve been renting.
The scheme is currently running at two of Fairview’s developments – New Hayes in West London and Epping Gate in Loughton, Essex. However, it’s expected to be rolled out to a number of other developments over the next few months.
The scheme is open to anyone who is classed as a first-time buyer, and the only stipulation is that you must have a deposit equivalent to 1% of the property’s value when you first move in. This is handed over to the developer when you first exchange contracts, and from that point, 100% of your rent will go towards the deposit to buy the property.
There’s also an option to top up your monthly payments if you can, which means getting on to the property ladder sooner.
For more property news and updates and a more detailed overview of the London area, get in touch with Properly.
We are your local property experts. Call us on 0207 459 4400 or email mariel@properly.space.
London Youth work to improve the lives of young people in London, challenging them to become the best they can, and last year helped over 27,000 young people through their sports development, youth action and involvement, arts and outdoor education programmes and employment prospects. We feel strongly that all young people should have an opportunity to develop themselves, and so are delighted to be able to support London Youth in their work, providing young people with access to opportunities they might not otherwise have had, to learn new skills, to make a positive change in their communities and to shape the city they live in.
Glass Door helps homeless men and women in London through their large network of emergency shelters and support services. These winter shelters provide a warm welcome, food, safety and shelter for up to 170 people every night. Properly feels passionately about the issue of homelessness. That is why we are delighted that together with our clients we can assist Glass Door in their fantastic work to help some of the most marginalised people in society.
Families become homeless for reasons we can all identify with. We are concerned about people who are struggling to keep things together in our fast-paced world – and we care about those who have no support. We chose the Doorstep Homeless Family Project because they are passionate and effective yet they are a small team with limited funding. They provide homeless families, living in temporary accommodation in London, with access to services to secure the emotional and practical support they require to enjoy a better quality of life.
We need nature and nature needs us. We support The London Wildlife Trust because we share its concern for the environment. We want to ensure that we keep nature in mind as we work in the property market – and crucially, with people’s homes. We also want our employees to engage with nature and benefit from the wellbeing this brings. London Wildlife Trust cares for over 37 of London’s spaces, and their vision is: “a London alive with nature, where everyone can experience and enjoy wildlife”.
The service is outstanding. Mariel could not be more helpful and professional. Every individual I engaged with, was well informed and had the full history of conversations. First class service.
The level of customer service I received at Properly with Mariel and her team was frankly outstanding. It’s lovely when people genuinely care and go the extra mile which certainly they did. I couldn’t recommend them more highly, the most pleasurable property experience ever for me.
Mariel & Michael have been amazing, very thorough, helpful and a delight to deal with, would highly recommend! Thank you both.
Mariel helped me sell my apartment in West London. She was always there when I needed her. Her advice was invaluable and made everything a whole lot easier. I can’t recommend her highly enough.
Amazing people, responsive, honest, friendly and professional. Cannot fault them and the type of company, you will go back to again and again.
I cannot recommend this estate agent enough. Michael and Mariel have been very good to us throughout the process and have made sure everything has been as smooth as possible. They have gone above and beyond to ensure everything was dealt with and in a timely manner too. A great experience throughout!
Both Michael and Mariel were extremely helpful with our questions going forward whether it be regarding referencing or the property itself. Definitely not the usual estate agent experience (in a good way) and I would recommend Properly to anyone.
Mariel and Michael have been absolutely great, by far my best ever experience with an estate agent. Properly is honest, upfront and friendly, responding really quickly to any and all queries and with a lovely personal touch.