State of your local property market: March 2024
Hello Spring! You must have noticed by now: the lighter evenings, spring blooms in full force and the constant hum of activity rippling through the local property market. We certainly have and are here to update you on the state of your local property market.
We’ve reached the end of the first quarter of 2024 already and things are heating up. The spring market is extremely buoyant so if you’re seriously considering buying or selling property, act sooner rather than later and get in touch with the team at Cooper Adams today.
The current landscape
Life at Cooper Adams is a busy one right now! We asked Shaun Adams, Managing Director and founding owner of Cooper Adams, what’s been happening in the local property market throughout March, and behind the scenes in the branches. Here’s what he had to say:
“As a company we’ve had a very busy March across the board, and can share the following statistics for you:
- The registering number of new buyers has increased by 3% from February.
- Viewings rose by 7% in March compared to the month before.
- Offers rose by 43% in March compared to the month before.
- Sales agreed stayed the same in March compared to the month before.
- Exchanges rose by 13% in March compared to the month before.
We’ve had a couple of internal developments - we’ve said farewell to George in Angmering, welcomed Sammy in East Preston, and James McGillivray is doing a sterling job overseeing the Rustington and Angmering teams on a temporary basis. Our latest meeting with Cala homes put a further spring in our step too - new homes sales are accelerating and Cooper Adams continue to support part exchange clients. Click here to find out more about the offers and incentives available.
The market is still slowly and gradually warming up, new buyers, viewers and sales slightly higher but a lot more people are making offers which will lead to more sales. Something else that’s important to mention is inflation. In March we saw it drop to 3.4% which gives more consumer confidence and signs of hope that the Bank of England interest rate could be cut soon too”.
At Cooper Adams, it’s all about the service. We work hard on the little things that make the difference and that includes offering something like free, no obligation advice. For expert advice on all things property or for a free no obligation market appraisal, please do contact your local Cooper Adams office.
Mortgage rates
According to recent figures shared by MoveIQ, “mortgage approvals across the UK jumped 7.7 per cent in February to 60,383. This is a huge 40% higher than a year ago and is the fifth month in a row that there’s been an increase”.
This should be encouraging for sellers. It indicates that more buyers have secured a mortgage loan 'in principle', enabling them to search for a home with the assurance that they have the necessary funds to complete the purchase.
The current Bank of England base rate is 5.25% as of 21st March 2024. The next review is scheduled for 9th May 2024.
As of Thursday 4th April 2024, the current average mortgage rates are shown below (sourced from moneysupermarket.com):
Rental market review
The supply vs demand debate continues… would-be tenants and existing renters wanting to switch accommodation still far exceeds supply and the need for more affordable housing remains.
On average, 10 applicants compete for every one property available to rent.
As ever, the risk of rent rises persists too. Although affordability ceilings have been hit in a lot of places, any potential increases should in theory be significantly less than those we saw a year ago.
The road ahead
The recent Budget didn't have as big of an impact on the housing market as we thought it would. But with another possible big event happening later this year, along with talk about a General Election heating up, things might get pretty unpredictable in the near future. This means that selling or buying a house in the first half of 2024 might be a better idea than waiting until after summer.
If you’re still on the fence about when to buy or sell, concerned about factors such as risk, please have a look at our bespoke Seller’s Guides, Buyer Information Packs and Reservation Agreements which are proven tools to help support and secure you in your individual home moving process.