Prices will peak as lull in property market kicks in, EXP says
Adam Day of hybrid agency EXP says the housing market usually goes quieter in the autumn, and this year will be no different.
The housing market may be picking up nicely after the interest rate cut in August, but a lull is on its way, according to EXP.
The hybrid agency says the autumn season often brings a slower market, and this year will be no different.
Manage expectations
Agents need to manage seller expectations as much of the talk around the property industry is that things are picking up quickly.
eXp UK analysed housing market data over the last 10 years, looking at price growth across each season, and how performance fluctuates.
Prices to peak
Housing market sentiment is high, with mortgage approvals on the up, EXP says, but the improvement in house prices could now peak as we head into autumn.
The figures show that over the last decade across Britain, house prices have seen an average rate of increase of 1.5% between the summer months of June to August, says EXP, which operates a network of self-employed agents.
However, the average rate of growth seen over the last 10 years between the autumn months of September and November sits at just -0.1%, with the same rate of growth in the winter months of December to February.
It’s important not to get carried away by recent property market positivity.”
Adam Day, Head of EXP UK (main picture), says: “As a home seller, knowledge is power, and so understanding how seasonal trends impact your local property market can be key when it comes to deciding when to sell and how much for.
“With the price achieved generally reducing during the autumn and winter months, along with transaction levels, it’s important not to get carried away by recent property market positivity and set an over-optimistic asking price, if securing a buyer at speed is your top priority.”
Having been in Agency since 1982, my experience is that numbers of sales agreed take a slight dip in July and August resulting in lower corresponding completions. These timescales have been pushed back as transaction timescales have nearly doubled in the last 40 years. Actual numbers of sales agreed through September/October/November are always higher than the summer. So I’m not sure where Exp are getting there figures from. If they are citing the Land Registry HPI then of course they are lower as they work on completions not sales. Need to know what database these figures come from as they don’t make sense.