Senior property figures predict interest rate to hit 4% next year
Panel takes a look at what 2025 has in store for the property industry during The Negotiator Conference in London last Friday.
A panel of experts from across the property sector have shared their thoughts on Friday at The Negotiator Conference on what next year has in store for estate agents.
The panel included Zoopla boss Charlie Bryant, BTR specialist Brendan Geraghty, Propertymark CEO Nathan Emerson and Kevin Shaw, who is MD of LRG’s sales division plus Skipton Building Society boss Charlotte Harrison.
While some worry about what a Labour government means for agents, much of the discussion centred around the future direction of the base rate and the effect it would have on the housing market.
Significant boost
In what could provide a real boost for the sector, mortgage lending cnief Harrison said there may be two or three more rate cuts to come next year, which would bring the base rate down to 4%.
Swap rates, the rate which lenders use to set mortgage rates, are already starting to come down.
Bryant agreed, adding that as the budget may result in a flat economy, a base rate cut would help stimulate the economy and provide buyers with the confidence to get moving.
No one, though, was convinced the Government’s housebuilding programme would be on track. BTR expert Brendan Geraghty (ARL) acknowledged that planning had improved for large-scale developments, but not for small ones.
Geraghty also suggested people should be given tax credits to encourage them to invest in the sector.
Entrenched views needed to change”
Conveyancing, the panel agreed, was another area that required improvement. Propertymark’s Emerson called for a: “more open environment for conveyancing” and that “entrenched views needed to change” if the process was to be sped up.
Zoopla’s Bryant, however, saw some ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, with the increasing digitisation of information.
No mass exodus
Another big topic for discussion was, unsurprisingly, the Renters’ Reform Bill (RRB) and the changes it will bring to the lettings market. No one gave any credence to the idea of a mass exodus of landlords, but most are expecting a reduction in the number of ‘hobby landlords’ and an increase in the number of professional ones.
Bryant believes the RRB could be a positive force, bringing landlords and agents closer together. Landlords, he says, will need help from their agents to ensure they are complying with all the new rules and that would encourage them to move away from self-management.
And LRG’s Kevin Shaw noted that although the stamp duty surcharge has risen for landlords, as before, most would simply ask sellers for a discount to compensate.
