"The prospect of more houses being built is reassuring especially for the younger generation, but also brings stability to all sectors of the market."
- James Greenwood - Stacks Property Search
The recent past has given buyers many causes for anxiety. First, we had Brexit, then Trump, then the Pandemic, then a conveyor belt of Conservative leaders, then Trussonomics, high inflation, and high interest rates. It's been a roller-coaster for the property market and for those buying and selling.
But at last buyers and sellers are able to operate in a relatively stable climate, all the indicators point to it being a good time to sell, and the market is well supplied.
So it's time for buyers to take a breath, and realise that many of the reasons for buyer anxiety have either mellowed or gone away altogether.
So why shouldn't buyers be anxious?
A new Government, without the prospect of change, or distracting leadership battles, brings with it stability and the likelihood that we are in for fewer surprises.
Interest rates have started to come down, and there are signs that there will be a steady (albeit slow) downward trend. Buyers can be reassured that their mortgage rates are unlikely to be rising in the short to medium term.
There's lots of stock and lots of choice, so buyers are under much less pressure to make speedy decisions.
Prices are nicely stable, they're neither rising nor dropping at any discernible rate, and there are no outside influences that are likely to produce dramatic changes in property value. A stable market is always the best market to operate in, especially for those who are both selling and buying.
The prospect of more houses being built is reassuring especially for the younger generation, but also brings stability to all sectors of the market.
Expected changes in the planning process should make it easier to get planning permission for new builds, extensions and renovations.
It's preferable to buy and sell in the same political and economic cycle – for the first time for years, we seem to have both!
Many people have been sitting on their hands for a number of years, wanting to make a move, but paralysed by successive shocks to the economy and to the prospects for the future. This couldn't be a better time to ditch the anxiety and make the move.
Not moving in itself can be a cause for anxiety; living in the wrong house, whether it's too big for those needing to downsize, too small for those with growing families, or in the wrong place for school, work or lifestyle reasons, leads to constant trawling of the property portals, without any real intention to make a move. Uncommitted buyers are beset by torpor and a constant nagging anxiety.
It's very rare for people who've made the move to remain anxious; they settle into their new lives and new beginnings. It's time to bite the bullet – buyers are running out of reasons not to!
