Hometrack has released its latest house price index, and we’ve been scouring it for the biggest takeaways:
- Discounts are rising. The average discount to asking price has widened to 4.5%, and over 40% of homes listed for sale have been reduced: clearly, it’s a buyer’s market.
- Regional towns are the place to be. The likes of Oldham, Dudley and Worcester are out-performing: beneficiaries of being affordable and close to major employment centres.
- Demand is… normal. Buyer interest cratered in October, and has since picked up until it’s now in line with the pre-pandemic norm.
- Supply is up. There are 60% more properties on the market than a year ago, bringing supply back up to a normal level too.
Summary: It’s good news that supply is returning, and buyers and sellers seem to be finding a zone of agreement rather than there being a stand-off. We’re also seeing evidence of one of the big trends we predicted for this year: significant divergence in the performance of different areas and property types. How much further will prices fall though? We’ll see.
