September 2023 Market Commentary

‘September 2023 House Price Index shows signs of an Autumn pick-up’

The August & September 2023 markets have been labelled as ‘challenging’ with subdued activity due to the combination of interest rate rises and the summer holidays causing price reductions to creep up. However, new seller asking prices have increased marginally this month by 0.4%. This change is a smaller increase than is usual for this time of year, with the average Autumn increase over the last ten years being 0.6%. The 0.4% increase we have seen this year does however show promising signs for the Autumn market to come.

Let’s put these percentages into context. With the average asking price of £366,281, 0.4% is equal to £1,465. Comparing this to the average Autumn increase of 0.6%, which is equal to £2,198, we can see that there’s only a difference of £733 on the average property.

Buyer activity is one of the largest influencing factors in property prices, after all more buyers mean more sales! With buyer affordability continuing its gradual trend of improvement as mortgage rates continue to fall for the seventh consecutive week, buyer activity is assumed to follow suit. This month’s House Price Index does indicate market activity levels are picking up, with more property coming to the market since the schools have returned. In the first week of September the number of new properties coming to the market increased by 12% compared to the weekly average in August.

The strongest market remains at the lower end, with the first-time-buyer sector out-performing larger properties, continuing the trend we have seen since February. Buyer enquiries in this sector have increased by 1%, reflecting the changes we are seeing in buyer affordability. The average asking price for this market sector has also increased, unlike the other sectors, with an annual change of +0.3%.

Continuing this sector break down, for second stepper homes, new listings coming to the market have increased by 11%. For the top of the ladder sector, this increase in new listings is 24%. However, bear in mind that the top of the ladder sector is a much smaller proportion of the market, so incremental changes cause a larger percentage increase.

Coming into Autumn, we enter a key selling season with buyers hoping to get into their new homes for Christmas. The market remains a price sensitive market, but plenty of sales are being agreed for correctly priced property. With more homeowners coming to the market, it is important to price competitively against similar properties to stand out and make sure you get the right level of footfall through your door. But, pricing competitively doesn’t mean settling for less. With the right agent on your side, who has the right level of expertise in negotiation, the only way is up. But that’s a whole different article!

Want to find out more about what these market changes mean for you? Or wondering how a competitive price leads to a higher walk away figure for you? Just give us a call.

*Data sourced from publicly available resources including UK Government and Rightmove