It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Bobby Singh Braich, Managing Director of Belvoir, Northamptonshire.
The current cost of living crisis is unsettling for all, with our landlords and tenants sharing concerns about keeping up with rent.
The recent release of the 2022 State Of The Lettings Industry report showed that almost half of tenants (46.48%) are concerned that the current economic climate could impact their ability to pay rent as the crisis continues.
Across the country, 2023 will see millions of homes facing financial difficulty and I anticipate this will mean the housing market will slow as buyers – and builders – become hesitant at making large financial investment.
Add to that the recent dramatic hike in mortgage rates and the end of the Help To Buy scheme and it is likely that we will see the previous property boom begin to slow down in the coming months.
The rise in interest rates has seen mortgage rates soar, which will have a knock-on effect on buyer confidence. Landlords will also be impacted by higher mortgage repayments on their properties.
But rather than house prices drop, I believe they are more likely to plateau momentarily, as demand is still there. It is a sellers’ market, as supply remains low.
First time buyers are still likely to struggle to get onto the property ladder with prices of even the smallest properties hitting a record high in 2022. Those who are able are likely to be hesitant with the rising rates and uncertainty.
The Stamp Duty change announced in Kwarsi’s autumn mini budget is one of the only measures to have stayed in place to help buyers. The previous Stamp Duty holiday helped to keep the market buoyant so this could have a positive effect on the market and offer some relief to wary house buyers.
