A third of UK households perceive that house prices are still rising this month, albeit at the slowest rate since March; this is according to the latest Senitment Index carried out by Knight Frank and Markit. Some 28.9% of 1,500 households taking part in the research said that they thought the value of their home had risen over the last month, while 5.3% reported a fall.
Of those surveyed, 5.9% said that they plan to buy a property within the next twelve months. Furthermore, households in the South East expect prices to rise most significantly over the next year, the third consecutive month expectations in this region have been higher than the capital.
“A third consecutive monthly decline in the house price Sentiment Index suggests that the price exuberance seen in some corners of the market is easing,” said Grainne Gilmore Knight Frank’s Head of UK Residential Research.
“This comes amid increasing discussion about interest rate rises, which are likely to materialise within the next 6 to 9 months. Recent changes to the rules surrounding mortgage lending are also likely having an impact on market sentiment,” she added.
Gilmore also stressed that the Index goes a long way to highlight the regionalised nature of the housing market, as buyer confidence returns to the North East and North West of England.
Commenting on the Index, Tim Moore, Senior Economist at Markit, added: “UK house price sentiment remains strong overall, although it has cooled in each month since hitting a post-crisis peak in May. Not only does the sweet spot appear to have passed for house price sentiment, but the current period of decline is now the longest seen for almost four years.”
“Moreover, tighter mortgage conditions and the prospect of interest rate rises have acted to rein in households’ expectations of higher property values over the year ahead,” he concluded.
In the Rugby area we are still seeing bouyant levels of buyer inquiries and although there is always a slight lull at the end of Summer, the predicted interest rate rise hasn’t filtered through to worry buyers yet, in fact a lot of people, like earlier in the year with the MMR, are rushing to secure great mortgage rates before rises are announced. If you are looking to sell or rent a property in the Rugby area then please call or email us, or pop in for a chat!