BREAKING: House prices fell in October, latest Nationwide HPI reveals

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Annual UK house price growth slowed to 4.4% in November, down from 7.2% in October as the fallout from the mini-Budget continued to impact the market.

Prices fell 1.4% month-on-month – the biggest drop since June 2020 – making the average home worth £263,788, according to Nationwide’s November house price index, which reports that while financial market conditions have stabilised, interest rates for new mortgages remain high.

Those buyers returning to the market are negotiating hard while others have put their plans on ice, hoping for a combination of falling prices and lower fixed mortgage rates in the New Year.

Most advisors agree that predicted property price falls of 30% are overstated and believe that following a dip, prices will adjust over the next year or so. Some report that many landlords are holding back for a possible price crash so they can swoop in and buy property at a bargain.

Savvy

Imogen Sporle, head of term finance at Finanze, says: “In the past six months or so, savvy landlords have been releasing maximum equity from their portfolios when rates were low and fixed their mortgages in for five years. They now have a cash surplus to snap up properties when the expected crash occurs.”

In Scotland, landlords are selling up portfolios, often at a significantly reduced rate, according to Marie Johnstone, MD at Wilson Property Group.

“The cap on rental income has driven further uncertainty into an unstable marketplace,” she says. “We could see an avalanche of flats coming onto the market in the New Year once the short-term lets have cashed in on the Christmas trade.”

DeLorean

Mike Staton, director of Staton Mortgages, strikes a more jovial note. “If you are a landlord, I would consider asking Santa for a DeLorean for Christmas and fast forward to 2024. These days, you’ve got as much chance of getting a DeLorean than you have of getting a new buy-to-let mortgage at a decent rate,” he jokes.

View Full Article: BREAKING: House prices fell in October, latest Nationwide HPI reveals

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