Only 15% of people believe that now is a good time to buy a property, according to the latest Property Tracker survey from the Building Societies Association.
This figure sees a marked drop compared to the 26% who said the same just one year ago, highlighting a clear decline in consumer confidence within the housing market.
It’s not however the same picture across the whole country, as there are some significant regional differences:
One in five people in London (19%) and the North East (19%) agreed that now is a good time to buy, compared around half that number (11%) in Scotland.
Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage and housing policy at the Building Societies Association, said: “Inflation continues to rise, and we are by no means sanguine.”
“I expect that affordability for house buyers will remain a key barrier to homeownership for some time as many will not be able to borrow the same amount in the higher interest rate environment.
“This may well lead to some downward pressure on house prices.”
According to the survey, those disagreeing that now is a good time to buy a property jumped from 39% in June to 52% in September.
Interestingly, a similar number of people think that house prices will rise in the next 12 months (35%) as those who think they will fall in this period (31%) with over a quarter (27%) unsure, demonstrating the general market uncertainty.
The double-digit growth in house prices in the past year means raising the deposit required to buy a home continues to be a significant barrier, with over half of those surveyed (57%) saying this was blocking them.
However, despite rampant concern and financial pressure, only 11% of people said they had concerns about being able to afford their mortgage repayments.
Broadhead added: “It’s encouraging that currently almost nine in ten homeowners are not expressing concern about keeping up with their mortgage payments.
“The current volatility in the financial markets has impacted mortgage availability and prices, but the mortgage market remains open, and borrowers will be able to re-mortgage when their fixed rate ends.
“It is important for people to start planning for when their current deal ends and consider how any new deal will impact their household budgets.”
