Housing market holding up as interest rate hold adds welcome stability

The housing market has been nothing if not consistent in recent months with our data showing that September saw no real shift in sentiment among buyers and sellers, as those motivated to move got on with it.

The Bank of England’s decision to pause consecutive interest rate hikes, keeping base rate at 5.25 per cent, was well received and helped bring some welcome stability. Consumers are hoping that we’ve seen base rate peak, with the worst of the pain behind us.

While rockbottom deals are long gone and we must get used to paying more for our mortgages, it’s only when there is some stability and borrowers become less concerned about further rate hikes that they will get off their hands and make big decisions such as whether to move.

Our data shows that buyer and seller sentiment proved extremely resilient in September. Nearly three-quarters of buyers (74%) were confident that they’d purchase a property within the next three months compared to 75% in August.

Click on the link below to read more.

https://www.peterclarke.co.uk/pdf/Housing_market_update_Oct23_OTM-Property-Sentiment-Index.pdf