THE housing market remains strong and robust despite falling prices, a leading expert has insisted.
Jonathan Rolande, from the National Association of Property Buyers, spoke out after new figures released by Nationwide found house prices have seen their sharpest drop in 14 years – 3.4% in the year to May.
Mr Rolande said: “If you dig a little deeper you’ll find that prices actually only dipped 0.1% in May itself so the majority of the hit has already happened and been reported.
“It’s not a reason to think the market isn’t under threat, and things could get worse. But the reality is that prices are still only 4% below the mega-peak of Summer ’22 – and that is really not that bad.
“What’s more, we can expect better news in the next month or two as sales figures are released for the Spring market that was noticeably better for home sellers and estate agents alike.
“Should we be worried that things are about to get much worse? Those of us in the property industry live by the saying‘ hope for the best, plan for the worst’.
“And there are factors at play in the market that could undermine even what is proving to be a pretty robust property market. Interest rates are high and may possibly get higher still. As many landlords exit, property supply will increase. There are fears that the market is simply propped up on cheap borrowing and when that stops, the market will tumble.
“Good estate agents should be able to adapt to our new sales environment but those that don’t change in the hope things will soon get back to normal will be disappointed. The boom that we’ve all enjoyed for the last three years in fact isn’t ‘normal’ the market is what it is, and we need to get used to it quickly.”
Meanwhile Mr Rolande also expressed his concern at reports that an independent survey of 1,323 UK homeowners had found just 21% feel the government is taking sufficient action to address the country’s housing crisis.
A significant majority (69%) stated that the lack of affordable housing is one of the most pressing social issues in the UK.
Mr Rolande added: “I’m keen to know who the hell are the 21% who feel that enough is being done?
“Wherever you look there are problems – interest rate hikes, the cladding scandal, unpopular rent reforms, a generation destined to never own a home, spiralling rents, falling prices, leasehold reform dithering, housing targets missed and then abandoned. Whatever your political colour, surely it is difficult to think of any policy that has been successful in addressing the imbalances which exist in this unfair property sector.