House building statistics report that despite a tough start, renewed growth in project-starts is forecast in the second half of 2024. This, along with the forecast gradual easing of interest rates, is also expected to feed through to lift housing market activity from the second half of the year.
UK house prices climbed 1.2% during the year through February, reported by Nationwide. That's the first annual gain since January 2023.
Knight Frank revised forecasts now expect UK mainstream prices to rise by 3% in 2024, which compares to a decline of 4% they predicted back in October. With low-level single-digit growth in subsequent years, they also expect cumulative growth of 20.5% in the five years to 2028.
House prices are now just 3% below the all-time highs recorded in the summer of 2022, which is remarkable given the surge in borrowing costs. Forbearance from lenders has prevented forced selling and equity-rich homeowners have in many cases chosen to sit tight and wait for the volatility to pass. We don't yet know how quickly borrowing costs will fall, but that's very different to not knowing how far rates will rise - the shift from the former to the latter has clearly helped the market turn a corner.
1n Jul 2024 mortgage borrowing was reported as the highest since November 2022.
In July 2024 recent UK buy-to-let statistics show that consumer buy-to-let mortgages were valued at around £41.6 billion
Buying a property to rent out can prove to be a good source of income, and millions of people are choosing this as an investment opportunity.
It is estimated that more than 1.5 million homeowners are due to reach the end of fixed-rate mortgage deals throughout 2024.
