CrowdProperty predicts busy housing market next year
CrowdProperty has claimed the housing market will be busy with activity next year, while macro-economic factors will continue to impact the sector in the coming months.
The property peer-to-peer lending platform’s State of the Market report cited data and views from Zoopla and EY Item Club.
It said that the outlook for the housing market at the start of next year is set to be very busy due to the lag between agreed and completed sales, according to Richard Donnell, director of research and insight at Zoopla.
CrowdProperty also cited Howard Archer, chief economic adviser at EY Item Club, as saying that buyers will look to take advantage of the increase in the stamp duty threshold in the first quarter before it ends on 31 March.
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“Both commentators also agree that continuing Brexit negotiations, the end of the furlough scheme and the prospect of rising unemployment are factors which will impact the months ahead,” CrowdProperty said in a blog on its website.
The platform added that the EY Item Club has predicted that housing market activity will gradually improve over the second half of next year as prices stabilise, the labour market improves and the economic recovery resumes.
“Despite a substantial bounceback in the third quarter as a result of reduced restrictions and increased consumer spending, the EY Item Club believes that the fourth quarter will be more challenging for the UK economy and growth may be limited due to rising unemployment, waning pent-up demand and increasing restrictions due to a rise in case numbers,” said a CrowdProperty representative.
“Uncertainties over the future UK-EU trading relationship may also impact business caution and reluctance to invest.”
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CrowdProperty cited data from Zoopla showing the annual growth rate of house prices climbed to 2.6 per cent in August as demand continues to outweigh supply.
The platform also saw the trend of buyers seeking more open spaces, which has been noticed by estate agents in the RICS UK Residential Survey and in the prime property market by CapitalRise.
CrowdProperty said that in September, Rightmove searches doubled across Surrey, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Berkshire, Dorset, Kent and Suffolk which all have larger open spaces and smaller communities with populations of under 11,000.
