Published: 23/05/2024 By Alex Maile
After a cold and wet start, spring is finally warming up and the bank holidays are coming thick and fast. The improving weather should give the property world a boost, too, because when it’s miserable, we tend to hide indoors and there can be a noticeable drop in viewing numbers. In contrast, when the sun comes out, everyone wants to go outside and get on with things. Better still, homes look so much more attractive when they are filled with light and any outside spaces will be looking at their absolute best.The inclement weather has certainly been more prolonged than usual this year and may well be partly to blame for the housing market’s somewhat hesitant start to 2024. Perhaps more significantly, though, has been the issue of interest rates and when they will finally start coming down. Although the Bank of England kept the base rate on hold yet again this month, the governor, Andrew Bailey, said there could be a quarter point cut as soon as next month and that it could then fall faster than we were originally expecting.
That would be good news for both the sales and the rental markets. In sales, quite a few people had been waiting for interest rates to fall before making a move and in the rental sector, landlords’ rising finance costs have been exerting considerable upward pressure on rents.
In the meantime, house prices have remained fairly static, only rising or falling by very small margins. Rents, on the other hand, after a few months of falls are on the rise again. It is only likely to be a blip, as the general softening of rental price growth is likely to continue for a while longer. However, with summer one of the busiest times in the rental calendar and sales likely to soon get a significant boost from a drop in the base rate, if you want to get ahead of the curve, now is a great time to put your property on the market. Why not give us a call and we can give you a good idea of its current market value?
Right, that will do from me for now. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll be back again next month.