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8th January 2024
Winter Property
Market Trends Report January 2024
As the New Year begins many people look for predictions about how the property market will behave over the coming months. Everyone likes to know the value of their home, although for anyone looking to make a move it's essential to have a really good idea of what might happen.
Brighton and Hove is a modern, dynamic city and that's reflected in the local property market. Because so many people want to live here there will always be sellers and buyers looking for the right match.
Even more, the city itself has such a wealth of housing, taking in everything from classic period seafront apartments through to homes on the semi-rural edge of the South Downs. There really is something for everyone.
So as we go headlong into 2024 it's a good time to take stock and then look forward.
Mortgage costs and interest rates
Bank of England interest rates dropped to historic lows during the pandemic, so it was always going to be a shock whenever they inevitably began to go up again.
Last year the speed of increases took many by surprise and by late summer interest rates were at a fifteen year high. The knock-on effect for mortgages was instant and threw many people's plans for buying a home into a state of confusion.
However, by the end of the year average mortgage rates had fallen for 19 consecutive weeks with the 5-year fixed mortgage rate ending up a full 1% lower than in July. This was in spite of BoE rates remaining unchanged.
With inflation apparently under control the central bank's attitude to bringing in lower interest rates seems to be softening and we can expect this to happen sometime in the coming months. This will undoubtedly give a boost to buyers via even more affordable mortgages becoming available.
image copyright Bank of England
House prices
At the start of last year many were predicting a drop in property prices that would have been nothing short of a full-blown crash. This didn't happen.
In fact the market simply stabilised after a few years of
frantic activity, with house prices in seven out of 11 UK regions actually being higher at the end
of the year than they were at the same time in 2023.
Property sales and demand across the UK were also both up by almost a fifth year on year in December, according to the latest data released by one of the major property portals.
This level of activity in what is usually a quiet period definitely bodes well for the market as we start the New Year!
Our predictions for 2024
As an experienced local estate agency who has specialised in the Brighton and Hove market for decades we can say with full confidence that people will always want to sell property and other people will want to buy!
Of course national-level economic factors such as interest rates, mortgage costs, inflation, wages and much more will always have an impact. That's why the market is always changing and reacting in different ways.
The bottom line will always be that if you can find the right buyer at the right price you will sell, and if you are realistic and flexible in your search you will always find somewhere to buy.
That's where we come in - we find the right match in this two-way transaction and then make sure everything proceeds smoothly to achieve the result everyone wants.
As another busy New Year begins we're back at work helping people to buy, sell, rent and let homes all over Brighton and Hove.
We'd love to help make this a very Happy New Year for you - call 01273 677 001 to tell us your property dreams and then we'll help you make turn them into reality!