The number of prospective buyers in the UK property sector has risen to a two-year high, as people are spurred on by falling mortgage rates and an improved economic outlook.
The latest Housing Insight Report from Propertymark has revealed that the average number of new prospective buyers in the UK property market has increased to an average of 96 per member branch, which is the highest level seen in two years.
This comes alongside a boost in house prices, which increased by £2,076 between August and September to an average of £290,000, which is around eight times the average annual gross earnings in the UK. In England, prices have risen by an average of £5,618 over the past year.
Alongside this, sales volumes in the UK property market have also been on the rise, as appetite among buyers remains well-matched with the number of sellers bringing homes to the market. The report reveals that the latest figures from August are around 10% higher than in August last year.
This has had a knock-on effect to the number of mortgages being taken out, particularly as those who need to borrow to buy are now returning in higher volumes to the market due to rates falling over the course of this year. Propertymark notes a rise in both gross mortgage advances, and a rise in the value of new mortgage commitments in Q2 compared with Q1.
UK property market spurred on by stamp duty?
Current stamp duty rates, which have a nil rate band of £250,000, are due to revert back to previous rates from April 2025. This is because the current rates were initially brought in as a temporary measure by the last government.
The upcoming change means the nil rate band will be lowered to £125,000, and the rates above this amount will also be altered, essentially meaning that the majority of buyers will be paying more stamp duty from April next year. This could mean that buyers will be even more keen to get their purchases over the line over the coming months.
Nathan Emerson, Propertymark CEO, says: “The announcement of Stamp Duty rises in England and Northern Ireland from April 2025 will likely push more people to the market in hopes of completing to, in some cases, save thousands on their next home purchase. With more appetite from buyers comes more homes coming onto the market, so we expect to see activity accelerate over the coming months moving into 2025.”
Other economic factors also impact activity in the UK property market. The economy is in a stronger position, with a rise in GDP, while inflation remains significantly lower than this time last year, despite a small uptick in the latest announcement.
Commenting on the latest inflation news, Paresh Raja, CEO of Market Financial Solutions, said: “After years of sky-high inflation, any uptick in the CPI figure is understandably met with a healthy dose of trepidation. But the economy has turned a corner, and inflation will now regularly rise and fall – so long as it hovers close to the 2% target, smaller shifts are perfectly fine.
“Much of the noise surrounding the monthly inflation data comes down to the impact on interest rates and the cost of borrowing. The Bank of England has signalled its intent to steadily cut rates, and even the fallout from the recent Budget did not derail those plans.
“There could be one final base rate cut for the year when the Bank next meets in December, and today’s modest CPI uptick ought not to dramatically alter the decision-making progress. Indeed, the expectation remains that the base rate will continue to fall over the coming year.”
Affordability still a challenge
Affordability is another key factor influencing UK property market performance, and according to Propertymark, it remains a challenge for some buyers.
When people were asked to report on the difficulty of paying their rent or mortgage in Propertymark’s survey, 43% described it as ‘somewhat easy’, while 28% said it was ‘somewhat difficult’. A further 15% said it was ‘very easy’ to afford their payments, while 7% said it was ‘very difficult’.
The number of mortgage accounts in arrears across the UK property sector has also increased slightly, although Q3 figures from UK Finance showed that there had been a 3% fall in the number of homeowner mortgage arrears, down to 93,630. This amounts for 1.08% of all homeowner mortgages.
Keep up to date with the latest UK property market news and trends here.