The first rung of the UK housing market property is becoming harder to attain for many, especially those young in age. The age group 25 to 34 has been affected by the latest interest rate hike moving from 0.25% to 0.5%. In a recent study by eMoov, almost 60% of the age group claim they have been deterred from moving up the property ladder by the recent hike. The study also revealed that almost 20% have been put off from the sale of a property, and 13% have placed the purchase of a property on hold for now.

In recent years, the London transaction volume for property being bought and sold has been constant and significant in terms of volume. The latest data indicates factors such as new tax laws, Brexit uncertainty, and stamp duty changes have stifled growth. London property transaction volume is now down almost 20% compared to last year.

The UK housing market is now being described as muted and stagnant by some economists. These comments are coming just after new Halifax data has emerged. The latest figures indicate house price growth is continuing a slide which began a few months ago. The latest data shows November house price growth at 3.9% for the year to the end of November. This is a fall from 4.5% for the year at the end of October.

Thousands of mortgage loans are currently being remortgaged before maturity. House owners in order to seek a new deal and save money are transitioning to a deal with a fixed remortgage interest rate. This provides security against rate hikes in the future and makes the monthly mortgage payment consistently the same each and every month. Savers are also finding relief in the form of variable rate savings accounts.

House prices have been on one trajectory for years and the beginning of this year has been no different. Prices were rising each month through the summer, although the last few months have seen a change in the pace of growth. The amount of growth has slowed overall. Demand for houses has slowed and thus house prices have followed suit. Predictions for next year are rolling out and not surprisingly, house prices for the city of London are expected to drop another 0.5% according to Knight Frank.

Remortgage activity surged to the front of all mortgage lending as a percentage and now has pulled even further ahead of the rest of all mortgage lending, according to the latest data. The Mortgage Hut figures out recently identify remortgage as the mortgage lending tool claiming almost 40% of the entire market of property lending. This lending is painting a clear picture of exactly what house owners have been looking for this year.