UK PROPERTY MARKET update: april 2024
May 2, 2024
And so we find ourselves in May already, the most popular time of the year to buy and sell a home in the UK. And what does the latest market data from the UK housing market tells us? Well, exactly that!
Sales are up: 12% agreed more sales than this time last year.
2024 is on track to see 1.1 million sales completed, a 10% increase on last year.
The number of mortgage approvals in February were up 32% than a year earlier, according to the Bank of England, marking a return to pre-pandemic levels.
Despite the doom and gloom on forecasts, house prices are UP year-on-year in the North West and the Midlands.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has reported March saw the strongest level of buyer interest in two years.
Savills have recorded the “strongest quarterly price growth across prime London since 2022’s mini-budget.” London’s net agreed sales were 15% above pre-pandemic levels and +24% on last year (the UK figure is +19%).
Reporting on the UK House Price Index, Zoopla Head of Research, Richard Donnell commented:
“The housing market is more balanced than at any time since before the pandemic.”
Whilst RICS monthly report said:
“A growing share of surveyors expect house prices will rise in the next 12 months across all parts of the United Kingdom.”
Should I buy in London?
Activity levels are rising across the capital and according to Savills, “demand from those looking to take on debt has risen.” The price points showing the biggest uptick in activity are between £300-500k and the £500k-£1mil category, units like Aspen.
Indeed, Savills Outer Prime London Forecast is showing an 17.4% increase in house prices in the five years up to 2028.
As such, if you’re looking at buying in London, we advise sooner rather than later.
What other trends are happening in the UK market at the moment?
Because of the affordability pressures of increased lending rates, we’re seeing buyers pushing their parameters further afield. Savills’ buyer sentiment survey, released in April, showed “a third of households that want to move are looking to move out of their local area to secure their next home.”
This is why savvy buy-to-let investors are now eyeing up commuter town properties centred around urban conurbations. If you’re interested in this trend, contact us and we can talk you through our investments outside of Manchester, London, Cambridge and Birmingham.
What about interest rates?
Like the May weather, the outlook is sunnier. Inflation is heading the right way in line of the BoE’s target of 2.0% down to 3.2% at the end of March. It’s extraordinary to think of its 11.1% peak in October 2022.
And, contrary to media headlines, it seems the exodus of UK buy-to-let landlords hasn’t quite materialised. According to Savills “the sale of properties bearing Capital Gains Tax has remained remarkably consistent with no discernible upward trend.” It’s still a good time to be a buy-to-let property investor.
What’s more the plc agency is advising landlords to “benchmark” existing rents against open market levels to “capitalise on the recent burst of rental growth.”
Property investors would do well to make hay whilst the sun shines…
Contact us today to see our latest UK buy-to-let property investments!
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about the AUTHOR
Managing Director
richard bradstock
RPA’s founder, Richard has worked in residential development investment for 20 years and oversees the general running of the business ensuring the RPA Group retains true to its founding principles. Over his career Richard has built an incredible network of international property investors and like-minded industry professionals. The RPA Group was born out of a duty of care to provide property investors with an industry-leading and integral service, one that connects investors with quality and desirable investment opportunities, whilst providing reliable and trustworthy market commentary and analysis alongside, enabling investors to make the best, most-educated decisions for them.