OCTOBER 2024 | PROPERTY MARKET REVIEW
In our market review of October 2024, we look back on noteworthy surveys and reports, significant policy decisions and other developments affecting the UK residential property sector.
This month, we have continued to see mounting evidence of a market revival. Average prices are rising, as are rental returns, and in the light of falling interest rates, sentiment is increasingly positive. Sales and evaluations are also noticeably up, which suggests that activity within the sector will continue on its upward trajectory. Supply – as measured by property sales listings – is also much higher than it was, although it is still dwarfed by demand in markets right across the UK.
In general, then, the signs point to a steady improvement in investors’ prospects. However, the end of the month brought details of the Autumn Budget, which is likely to usher in some substantial economic changes. Seeking to raise £40 billion in order to plug what it termed a “black hole” in the nation’s finances, the UK Government introduced a mixed bag of measures that will inevitably produce winners and losers. Broadly, the Chancellor sought to ensure that the burden of additional taxation will fall on businesses rather than working people but, as always, the devil is in the detail. We’ll consider this in more depth later on.
For investors, any concerns over the Budget may be partially offset by other factors such as falling mortgage rates and continuing growth in real incomes. But so soon after the Chancellor’s announcement, it is difficult to predict where the housing market will find a new balance, and how market sentiment will change.
Darren Bennett
Managing Director
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