House prices are down, but they are really up – July 2020

UK property Prices July 2020

The negative stats were from April through June 2020, with these figures released by the mortgage provider Halifax. Looking at the wider picture and at the yearly figure so far then we have prices rising across Wales and within all regions of England.

When we consider the global crisis that was recently experienced that included a world’s first ever lock-down with people not able to work and the necessary intervention from the government having to support people’s income, then a tiny 0.9% drop, when even the estate agency world was firmly paused, then surely it proves how solid the UK property market really is (only Scotland showed negative years growth figures).

Demand on UK property is still very high and immigration in to the UK is also busy, with the difficulties currently in finding land with permission to build and targets not being met for new house building then for sure there will not be too much of a drop in valuations in the next few months.

the EY Item Club is forecasting a 3 per cent drop over the next few months, before stability resumes at the turn of the year.House prices forecast to fallThis is Money

Many will say, and I agree, that the full effect of Covid-19 is yet to be seen in regards to financial position of government and in turn consumers, but possibly spending in the UK itself will increase especially due to people fearful of travelling such as for holidays, spending happen at home rather than abroad. The will also be no need to pay out to the EU soon substantial daily fees and the chance for big dealings via international trade deals (free trade deals) with countries such as the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

A trade deal between the US and UK will jump start growth…The Daily Telegraph – June 2020

Estate Agencies have mostly reported positive activity following the lock down and the pausing of the UK property market. Speaking with varied agents I know, around the country (England) there seemed to be positive sales / enquiry figures with a slightly slower activity report from within areas of London.

So ahead of us we are still very much in the unknown regarding Covid-19 and it’s overall effect, Maybe it is now all done and dusted and it’s effect will slowly disappear allowing us to get back to normality though of course there are reports that it may re-appear and via a much stronger strain, this of course would be highly damaging to the economy and in turn property prices and sales activity.

One thing is for sure though is that property prices usually remain robust and in all cases they rebound. There maybe a potential doomy and gloomy road ahead, and especially if you read any of the typical politically motivated press, though even a small decline in prices will lead to an increased activity in the market and demand will once again go up!

 

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

Letting Agent Talk

Will RRA mean almost 50% of renters need a guarantor?

A surge in tenants who require a rent guarantor is coming to the post-RRA rental market   New analysis by Zero Deposit reveals that the proportion of local authority districts in which the average tenant is likely to need a rent guarantor to secure pass tenancy affordability checks could increase from one-in-five to almost one-in-two…
Read More
Breaking News

Nationwide House Price Index for May 2026 – Thoughts from the Industry

The latest Nationwide House Price Index for May 2026 shows that: House prices fell by -0.6% between April 2026 and May 2026. This marks the first monthly decline recorded so far this year. Annual house price growth slowed to 1.7% in May 2026, down from 3.0% in April 2026. The average UK house price now…
Read More
Breaking News

Annual house price growth slows in May

UK annual house price growth slowed to 1.7% in May, from 3.0% in April House prices were down 0.6% month on month   Headlines May-26 Apr-26 Monthly Index* 551.0 554.3 Monthly Change* -0.6% 0.4% Annual Change 1.7% 3.0% Average Price (not seasonally adjusted) £278,024 £278,880 * Seasonally adjusted figure (note that monthly % changes are…
Read More
Home and Living

Signs of Outdated Wiring in Older Tulsa-Area Homes

Tulsa has a lot of beautiful older homes. Brookside bungalows, Maple Ridge tudors, the postwar neighborhoods that fill out Midtown and East Tulsa. They were built well, but most were built before central air, before microwaves, before two-car households with two laptops and a dozen phone chargers. The electrical systems inside them were designed for…
Read More
LIVING BY THE SEASIDE 2022
Breaking News

Britain’s seaside price hotspots revealed

New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals Britain’s seaside hotspots where prices are rising the fastest Bootle in Merseyside leads the way, with average asking prices up 11% year-on-year, followed by Crosby in Liverpool (+9%) and Penarth in South Glamorgan (+9%) Other coastal locations including Llantwit Major in South Glamorgan (+8%) and Llanelli, in Carmarthenshire (+7%) are also seeing strong price growth Average asking prices are currently 0.3% lower in Great Britain compared to last year, with some seaside hotspots outpacing the…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Hertfordshire emerges as strongest performing London commuter county

New research from UK Property Development reveals that while London property prices fell by more than -3% in the past year, prices in some of the capital’s surrounding counties have enjoyed positive growth, none more so than the premium commuter county of Hertfordshire.   In the past year, London’s average house price has fallen by…
Read More