New Year Property Market Forecasts

Property market forecasts indicate the UK prices are set to fall for the remainder of the year, before potentially increasing in the new year. Let's take a closer look at the most recent statistics, and at the most important details of the new year forecast.

For the last three or four years, there's been a softening in house price growth. The English housing market has noticeably declined - nowhere more so than in the London and on the East coast of Southern England. In fact, in both of these locations the latest analysis anticipates negative price growth this year. Economists explain that the poor house price growth witnessed across England largely owes to a drop in prices in London and nearby areas. The latest data tells us that the average UK property this year is approximately £231,000, which represents a small spike of about 1% from the previous year. 

Meanwhile, prices in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have enjoyed a degree of stability and resilience. House price growth is evidently the strongest in most of Wales this year, with growth calculated to be 6.7%. In England, the most significant growth has been seen in the North West of the country and the Midlands, though over the last two or three months there has been a slight weakening of growth.

However, even in London and surrounding areas, it looks like there could be substantive improvements in house prices in the new year, provided there is a sufficient sense of stability in the UK. Economic outlook reports indicate deep uncertainty here - there is a clear chance for improvement if political uncertainty decreases, but no one is confident about predicting what will happen in the coming year.