UK property market news and updates 

It is the start of the second month of 2023, and experts are predicting that the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will up the base rate by 0.5 per cent on Thursday 2 February.

In the weekly mortgage update Capricorn says that ‘This would normally lead to lenders pausing their pricing actively, however last week saw another wave of Residential & BTL rate reductions, reflecting the competition in the marketplace and the normalising of the mortgage market’.

Reviewing the UK mortgage market Dataloft analysts too are also finding that ‘Mortgage rates also continue to fall as interest rates soften, with some deals for first-time buyers now below 5%. It is a trend which is expected to continue and should encourage this segment of the market to become more active’.

The Bank of England’s borrowing cost has been pushed to a high level after nine straight rate increases since December 2021. For many, it has been one of the most aggressive campaigns to tackle inflation for decades.

Zoopla’s January 2023 report also expects mortgage rates to continue to fall. The portal’s House Price Index has the following key points:

• House price growth ground to a standstill in Q4 2022, dragging the annual rate of house price inflation lower to +6.5%

• Most regions registered small price falls in Q4 2022

• Demand has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, in line with 2018 and 10% higher than in 2019

Here at Chase Evans, sales instructions have doubled in January 2023, compared to the number of new listings advertised in January 2022. 

Zoopla’s findings state that early buyers in 2023 are focusing on flats rather then houses as a response to higher borrowing costs and the reduced buying power. The portal reveals that 27% of new buyers are searching for 1- and 2-bed flats, up from 22% a year ago. ‘In contrast, demand for 3-bed houses has fallen 5 percentage points to 39%, although they are still the most in demand homes across the UK. In London, 1- and 2-bed flats account for 49% of demand, up from 42% a year ago’, says Zoopla.

Find out if the value of your UK property has changed in the last 12 months. CLICK HERE

For an advice on mortgage products contect Capricorn's Luke Northcott 

luke@capricornfinancial.co.uk