Following a muted six months, we are now seeing momentum return to the housing market. Demand was slowed by uncertainty regarding the result of the general election, tighter lending conditions and a natural adjustment after a recovery in prices. The annual growth rate is the most important indicator for the direction of the housing market, and new data recently released by the Halifax shows that the growth rate increased from 8.1% to 8.5% during the 12 months to April 2015. This means that the average house price rose from £193,328 to £196,412 in a month.
The escalation in house prices means that an increasing number of families are even further away from owning their own home. The demand for housing escalates but the supply cannot meet the rising needs. The growing demand for properties has resulted from improvements within the economy, reduced mortgage rates and rising employment but with insufficient availability people have little to no chance of making it onto the ladder.
As a result of the Conservative election victory, we are now likely to see a surge in prices and sales. The uncertainty that blighted the market is gone, and we can expect a boost in transactions as the vendors that held back prior to the election now place their properties on the market. The pending threat of mansion tax also played a huge part in the suppression of high end market sales, but this is no longer a concern as a result of Labour’s defeat. We are already beginning to see the other side of the slowdown before the election, and it is fully predicted that transaction increase will result in an increase in UK house prices.
If, like many property investors, you chose to wait until the result was in before you committed to any more investments, it is now the opportune time to look at property purchase. We are a proficient and experienced investment specialist and lettings agent for Barnet and London, and we specialise in helping our clients secure financially successful investments. We operate across all the London boroughs and beyond, and we can help you make the very best of the oncoming market conditions.
