Homeowners keeping an eye on their property values will find the latest information concerning the UK housing market interesting and perhaps worrisome. Some homeowners are in danger of falling into negative equity, which is when a property value falls below the level of debt on the property. Negative equity has several consequences, one of which it will block the homeowner from being able to remortgage. This is why the latest report on the average house price dropping for the fourth consecutive month by more than £4,100 is concerning.

It is no secret that things are tough financially and the forecasts aren’t optimistic it will get better any time soon. Some people are still trying to recover from the impact of the pandemic that is ongoing. Inflation has hit household budgets hard. Energy costs have caused such a drain to budgets that some are trying not to turn on their heat unless it is a matter of life and death, and unfortunately it is expected that energy costs will be rising again in Spring. Another financial strain has been rising interest rates. 

The forecast for the UK housing market is for a cooling off due to higher interest rates, continued impacts from inflation, higher energy costs, and consumer caution. There had been concern that homeowners would not only be facing higher repayments but also a loss of property value as the market declined. However, experts are more optimistic about the housing market and widespread loss of home values are less of a concern. 

Last year, as the new 2022 was on the horizon, no one could have foreseen the issues that would befall the year and hit household budgets and cause financial strains not felt in decades. We had begun to leave the pandemic in the past as things slowly returned to normal. Inflation was not yet causing hardships, and the war in Ukraine had not started. There were shortages due to supply issues, but all was expected to normalize in the days ahead. Jobs were abundant, companies were returning to normal output, and borrowing was still extremely cheap with historic interest rates in place.

The forecast for the UK housing market is for a cooling down from the past few years of tremendous growth. During the pandemic and the race for space buying frenzy that resulted, home buyers showed such a strong demand that records were broken month after month. Hopeful home buyers remained despite the higher asking prices due to historic low interest rates. For much of the previous two years, the Bank of England’s standard base interest rate had been at almost zero at 0.1% making borrowing more affordable than it had been in generations.

In the next year, almost two million households with fixed rate deals will come to the end of their mortgage terms. According to UK Finance, 1.8 million fixed rate deals are due to expire in 2023. The homeowners will then be able to choose from a remortgage or if not, be moved to their lender’s standard variable rate (SVR). A SVR is typically attached to a rate higher than what is offered with a remortgage, and it is subject to increases when rates are rising. Rather than face a higher rate or further hikes, a fixed rate remortgage could offer relief.