‘It is too difficult to say’ what will happen to property prices next year, according to leading London agent Lee Pendleton (main picture).

He questions forecasts of a 10% drop in the next two years because no-one can be sure what will happen.

Knight Frank yesterday predicted a fall of 5% next year and in 2024, as the housing market slows down. Prices boomed in most parts of the country after the Covid pandemic lockdowns.

“It is still a sellers’ market for the well priced property,” he says. “Stock is very limited in London – we are still seeing a shortage in some price brackets.”

Pendleton’s independent firm James Pendleton, which has 10 offices in the capital, has done well this year, he says, especially in Q3. But there has been a stock supply problem for the last three years.

Crisis, what crisis?

He believes it is even possible that prices rise next year. “Can they go up? Of course they can and will over time. There is so much money floating around for good investment opportunities long term.

“If stock doesn’t come to the market then prices will go up,” he says.

The crisis in the housing market since the Mini-Budget has been created by the media, according to Pendleton.

Not many of Pendleton’s customers are first-time buyers, he says, so the company is less affected by the spike in interest rates, he says.