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

Breaking News

Fledgling homeowners cut costs by taking on fixer-uppers to achieve dream home

66% of first-time buyers bought a cheaper home because it needed DIY or renovation work done Many choosing a ‘fixer-upper’ were able to buy in their preferred location, add value and put their stamp on it DIY almost mandatory among first-time buyers, with 93% completing at least one project since moving in But three quarters…
Read More
Breaking News

House Price Index for April 2026 – Thoughts from the Indutry

The latest Halifax House Price Index for April 2026 shows that: – On a monthly basis, house prices remained largely static, down by just -0.1% between March and April 2026. Annually, house prices were up 0.4%, albeit this rate of annual growth had slowed from 0.8% the previous month. As a result, the average house…
Read More
Breaking News

House prices remained broadly stable in April

• House prices edged down -0.1% in April, following a -0.5% fall in March • Average property price now £299,313, compared with £299,609 in March • Annual growth slowed to +0.4%, from +0.8% in March • Northern Ireland continues to record the strongest annual growth at +7.6%   Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages, Halifax, said:…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 7/5/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   The Hidden Economics of AI Agents: Why Businesses May Spend More Than They Ever Did on SaaS AI agents are rapidly being positioned as the next evolution of enterprise software. The problem is that many companies are still evaluating them through a SaaS lens…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

£15m property market accounts for 0.04% of all homes

The latest analysis from AgentWise has found that while more than 30,000 homes are currently for sale across Great Britain with an asking price between £1m and £5m, properties priced above £1m account for just 6% of all available housing stock, with the market becoming dramatically smaller and increasingly relationship-led as values rise. With so…
Read More
Home and Living

Beware of the underinsurance risk created by property alterations

Property owners are being warned that while alterations may well improve a building, they can also change its rebuild cost. Where works materially affect a building’s size, layout, specification or services, the amount it is insured for may need to be reviewed, as a matter of urgency, according to experts at RebuildCostASSESSMENT.com “It’s a common…
Read More