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2017 Property market - Rightmove predictions

The property portal Rightmove have now issued predictions for the housing market next year. The good news being they expect high demand to continue to lift prices outside central London.

Despite uncertainty over the UK’s decision to leave the EU and stretched affordability, new asking prices are 3.4% higher than in December 2015, and the firm said it expected high demand to continue to lift prices.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director, said: “There was a bout of jitters with the unexpected referendum result, albeit now seemingly short-lived, but more may arrive after article 50 is invoked.

“For the time being any nervousness is being overridden by high demand for the short supply of suitable homes for sale in the lower and middle market in many parts of the country.”

For would-be buyers, getting on the housing ladder is made harder by a failure to build enough homes to meet demand. Research by thinktank Civitas has found that net housing supply in England was only enough to meet 80% of the annual projected growth in the number of households for this parliament, and 90% of the growth by 2039. In London, the supply of housing is running at a rate that will provide just 55% of the homes that are needed to cater for new households over the long term, and in 14 of the capital’s 33 boroughs the rate is below half. In Haringey, north London, the rate of building is just 12% of expected household growth.

Daniel Bentley, editorial director at Civitas, said: “This shortfall is not only pushing up prices but stymying the household growth we would otherwise expect to see – as more youngsters live with their parents or enter house-share arrangements – and creating homelessness.”

Changing Home is confident the local market will remain solid into 2017. If you have any questions generally or would like our view on your home please do call us.