No matter where you are located, you will find that house prices are a hot topic. If you are an adult, it is likely that you will have an interest in house prices. If you own property, it is likely you will be keen to see how your investment is faring.
If you are looking to move, you will want to see how much you will have to pay for a new home. If you are renting or still at home, it may be that you are keen to see if there is any movement in the price of houses so as to better fit your budget. This is why any movement or possible trend is seized upon, and you often find big headlines when it comes to the UK property market or UK house prices.
Recently, there has been talk of a slowdown or fall in the price of property, and the Halifax produced figures for December of 2017 which would back up this feeling. The mortgage lender states that the average price of property in the UK for December was £225,021 which was a drop of 0.6%. The Halifax also stated that for the final three months of 2017, the annual growth rate stood at 2.7%, which was a drop from the previous three month’s figures, which was 3.9%.
UK house prices: Slow growth is predicted for property prices in 2018
While there is interest in looking back at property figures and prices, most of the work is done to allow people to make predictions on what is likely to happen to property prices in the future. It appears that many experts tip the rate of UK price growth to be around 1% for 2018. The Nationwide suggests that the price growth rate for 2018 will be between 1% and 1.5% while Halifax have issued a wider variance of between 0% and 3% for the next 12 months.
It can be interesting to look at UK figures and UK house prices, but given that there are so many different places in the UK, it stands to reason that the average doesn’t apply across the country. When it comes to property market discussions, there is so much focus on London. There is also the fact that the volume of properties and the higher prices in London tend to dwarf the market or skew figures. With this in mind, it is probably helpful to note that the prices in some parts of London are slowing down or falling, but prices in other parts of the country are faring much better.
Know what is important to you in the property market
Then again, it is also important to remember that different people hold separate views on the property market, and hold separate opinions on UK house prices. A homeowner may find falling house prices to be a negative thing, as this means they would get less money when selling their home but for someone looking to buy property, falling house prices can be of benefit to them. It is important to be aware of your own circumstances before reading too much into the movement of property prices in the UK.
No matter what your next move in the property market is, rely on Williams of Petersfield for support. We are local property specialists and we look to provide you with guidance and support with whatever you are looking to achieve in the property market.