Welcome to our Sargeants Journal

Welcome to our first Sargeants journal 

Every month, we’ll update you on what’s happening in the property market in Ealing and Hanwell and offer a suggestion or two about how to buy, sell or let the perfect property.

But, first, we’ve got to talk about the property market right now.

There’s been so much disruption in the news recently. Not only have we had a change of prime minister (goodbye Liz, hello Rishi!), but we’ve had rising interest rates to tackle rising inflation, the energy crisis and a looming recession. While the chancellor grapples with getting interest rates under control, we look at how this affects the property market.  

One piece of news from the Autumn budget is the Stamp Duty exemption up to £250,000 will remain in place until at least March 31st 2025.  First time buyers will be exempt from paying stamp duty up to £425,000. 

With inflation rampant, the Bank of England hiked interest rates on 3rd November from 2.25% to 3% which has left those with mortgages spending hundreds more each month on repayments. Fortunately, there are signs that mortgage rates and availability are now calming down after a crazy few weeks. 

The Office for National Statistics also highlighted that wages are rising at their fastest rate for more than 20 years with regular pay rising by 5.7% in the year to September. This is good news if you’re a buyer as it will, at least, allow you to attempt to keep pace with rising costs.

All things considered, the property market is still pretty robust. 

The average price of property coming to the market dropped by 1.1% (-£4,159) according to the latest House Price Index on Rightmove. What’s clear is that buyers are becoming more price sensitive, so paying attention to agents’ valuation is key to a quick sale in this market.   

The era of historically low interest rates is over, but there are signs that mortgage rates and availability are now settling down.  

Buyer demand is still performing better than in 2019 before the pandemic, but it is clear that we’re now in a price-sensitive housing market after two years of buying frenzy. With the current volatility, our advice is to speak with us and we can advise you on the best way forward.

Sources:
(Office for National Statistics) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63624996
(House Price Index) https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/house-price-index/

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