Market Comment (November 2024)

Market Comment (November 2024)

With November 2024 starting with reactions to the Autumn Statement, it’s been a busy month with respect to the housing market. The thing is though, there’s been a lot of noise, but the reality is, the market keeps ticking over.

As we move forward to the New Year, it might well be there are no significant changes until we settle into 2025. Whether you are planning to move or want to keep your options open, now is an ideal time to update your understanding of the market and work out what you need if you intend to move.

No matter the move you wish to make, Trading Places is here to assist you.

Is much changing with respect to property prices coming to market?

According to Rightmove, the average price of property coming onto the market has dropped by 1.4% in November 2024. This represents a fall of £5,366, taking the average price of property coming to the market as £366,592.

For the second month in a row, the drop is higher than what would have been expected. In November, the expected fall is 0.8%. This means a drop in price at this time of year is common, but this years’ drop is more notable than usual.

Tim Bannister of Rightmove comments: "There’s been a lot of news to digest for home movers over the last few weeks and it appears that the market may still be chewing it over. We had been seeing a drop-off in buyer demand, both in the lead-up to the Budget and in its immediate aftermath, as it was confirmed that there will be an increase to stamp-duty charges for most home-movers and second-home buyers, and some first-time buyers.”

Tim continued by saying: “However, a second Bank Rate cut and a boost of optimism regarding 2025 appears to have reversed this trend at least temporarily. Zooming out of these short-term trends, the big picture of market activity remains positive when compared to the quieter market at this time last year. This sets us up for what we predict will be a stronger 2025 in both prices and number of homes sold, particularly if mortgage rates fall by enough to improve affordability for more of the mass market significantly."

Reading between the lines, not too much has changed, which is often the case in the property market. Yes, the stamp duty change will impact landlords and property investors moving forward, but this will likely make the process more accessible for other buyers.

If you plan on selling your home soon and are worried about any buyers being left in the market, relax, that is far from the case.

Are landlords leaving the market? The answer depends on who you ask

At Trading Places, we work closely with landlords in Leytonstone, as well as tenants, buyers and sellers. We know the challenges these professionals face, but we also know landlord behaviour impacts the property market. We mention above how stamp duty changes might lead to fewer landlords buying property, which increases the chances of owner-occupiers purchasing a home.

An issue which will impact the supply of homes to buyers is whether landlords leave the market. Never mind stamp duty changes preventing landlords buying more property, are current landlords selling existing homes and getting out of the letting sector?
It appears as though the answer depends on who you ask!
The National Residential Landlords Association, alongside Pegasus Insight, say 41% of landlords plan to sell at least some rental property in the next 12 months. By contrast, only 6% of respondents plan to buy in this time-frame.

That seems quite damning, close to half of all respondents saying they’ll sell off some of their property portfolio.

However, figures provided by Lomond, suggests as of yet, there are no signs of landlords exiting the private rental sector. Lomon released a statement saying: “It’s becoming fairly apparent that the exodus of buy-to-let landlords has been somewhat exaggerated and the vast majority continue to see the rental sector as a secure and consistent avenue of investment, despite the government’s best efforts to dent profitability. The good news is that having escaped a capital gains tax increase, we simply haven’t seen a rush for the door following the Budget. We expect the buy-to-let landscape will continue to remain positive now that the budget dust has settled.”

For now, there’s stalemate in the market with little changed, and that might be the case for some time. As local estate agents, we stay in touch with what’s happening on our doorstep, and nationally, so if anything changes, you’ll be the first to know if you stay in touch with Trading Places.

We make sure you make an informed move

If you would like to learn more about Leytonstone, what the area has to offer, and how to achieve your goals in the local property market, we can help. To arrange an appointment, call us on 020 8558 1147 or send us an email at info@tradingplacesproperty.com

You will find Trading Places Estate and Letting Agents at 46 Church Lane, Leytonstone, London, E11 1HE; and we look forward to assisting you.

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