The UK housing market saw a further decline in house prices in October, albeit at a slower rate than September, which contrasts with the monthly increases reported by Halifax and Nationwide.
According to the latest RICS Residential Market Survey, sales continue to decline, and expectations for 2023 remain bleak with no anticipated increase in new sellers.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The stalled property market pushed prices lower in October, according to RICS. But for sellers, the real headache is that stagnating sales mean it’s incredibly difficult to shift a property.”
Tenant demand has risen as the number of landlords decreases, setting the stage for continued rent increases, projected at around 4% over the next year.
The current state of the market indicates that sellers may need to make significant price concessions to attract buyers, with Zoopla reporting average price cuts of over 4% for sales to occur.
Coles advises sellers to be pragmatic: “If they need to sell, they have to price their home realistically—brutally so. This means seeing through the over-inflated estimates of agents desperate for more properties on their books.”
The forthcoming Rent Reform Bill, which has contributed to landlords exiting the market, could exacerbate the situation by potentially pushing rents even higher.
As Coles points out, “It’s horribly ironic that it could mean even more [tenants] struggling to find a home in the first place.”
