The first thing to say is that there has certainly been lots going on and the good news is that this seems likely to continue. 
With people encouraged by the recent base rate drop, a mortgage price war and hopes of a further base rate reduction before the year end, stamp duty changes in 2025 as well as the usual desire for people to move before Christmas or certainly early in the new year and it is fair to say there is plenty of activity in the property market 
 
Halifax’s recent price index figures released 7th October show a 4.7% increase year on year as average house prices reached their highest level for 2 years at £293,399. As a reminder the record is £293,507 in June 2022. Average house prices here in Gloucester currently stand at £287,183 which 1.3% higher year on year. Across Gloucestershire average house prices stand at £396,304 although this is 1.1% lower than a year ago. 
 
Across the UK the number of homes listed for sale stands at a 7-year high yet here in Gloucester, at the time of writing, there are 969 homes currently advertised as available which is slightly lower than for the same time last year. This number has increased slightly over the past couple of months having been around 925 properties for most of the year from February onwards. Of those 969 homes currently for sale, 538 have been on the market for over 8 weeks and of those 413 have been on the market for at least 12 weeks. With the forecast for October’s budget set to increase taxes on second homes there is a large number of properties that have previously been let becoming available for sale which is certainly adding to the stock levels. The average time taken to agree a sale from first putting it on the market in Gloucester is currently 50 days making it the 7th fastest of the 50 largest cities in England. Carlisle is currently the fastest at 36 days whilst Bristol is at 45 days. The fastest selling city in the UK is currently Glasgow at just 25 days. 
So why are some properties not selling? 
 
In some cases, it could be argued the presentation could be better however the common reason for a property not selling will, more often than not, be the price. Has the seller been too greedy or has the estate agent overpriced it to get the instruction? 
 
What is clear is that for anyone looking to buy a home, there are plenty of properties out there that are ripe for making an offer based on how long they have been on the market. Worst case scenario is that your offer is turned down. You have nothing to lose. Our advice is to widen your search and increase your budget on the portals to the next band up from where you have been looking and see what now appears in your search. Look for properties that have been on the market a while and if potentially suitable, make a viewing and then offer what you can afford. 
If you are a seller and one of those slow-moving properties is yours then you should be re-evaluating. Was it the agent that inflated the price? Did they tie you to a lengthy contract (we don’t tie you in at all for the record)? Have they been trying to get you to reduce? It may be best to start again. Get a fresh opinion and go form there. Certainly, leaving things as they are is not going to do you any good and you will not be moving house if you don’t sell. 
 
It is worth remembering that properties priced sensibly to start with not only sell quicker but for a better price than those that are overpriced at the point they first hit the market. Historically people would always add a little to the price they actually wanted for their home to allow a bit of negotiation, but we reckon you are far better to price at what you want and get better interest levels. Only the seller chooses what to or not to accept! 
There are plenty of buyers out there. Demand is 25% up on this time last year and the latest Bank of England figures confirmed that the number of mortgage approvals for homebuyers hit a two year high in August this year. This is likely to go up again when the figures for September are released as buyers reacted to the base rate reduction and confidence increased that further reductions will be likely. 
 
Since the base rate was reduced there has been a mortgage price war amongst lenders with rates now at their lowest point for 15 months. Santander, HSBC, Halifax, Barclays and NatWest all announced cuts to its rates effective from 4th and 5th October with the lowest rates now below 3.7%. Furthermore, Nationwide recently changed their lending policy and will now lend 6 times the salary in some circumstances as well as increasing the maximum amount you can borrow under their ‘helping hand scheme’. 
 
The next monetary committee meeting is on 7th November, and it is widely expected there will be a further cut in the base rate. The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Gibson stated after the reduction in August of this year that it would be a gradual process to reducing base rates however a recent statement suggests there is hope of a more aggressive approach despite the inflation figures being slightly higher than the targeted level. On the back of his latest comments, made in an interview with The Guardian, there has been a reduction in the longer term swap rates (rates lenders use to determine future mortgage rate pricing) which is likely to further fuel the mortgage price war. 
 
Stamp duty changes come into effect in 2025 with the temporary increase in allowance ending on 31st March 2025. From the 1st April the nil rate will return to £125,000 from the current £250,000 whilst for first time buyers the current £425,000 threshold will reduce back to £300,000. With the average house sale taking 25 weeks from having an offer accepted to completing the 25-week clock starts on 7th October! Remember if you complete beyond 31st March, you will pay the higher rate so make sure you have the extra cash available just in case. 
Whatever your circumstances we hope you found the information insightful. If you have any questions or require any assistance then please feel free to drop us a message, call 01452 260993 or email enquiries@rbwalters.co.uk 
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