Leaders from the property sector comment on the latest Halifax data showing a 4.3 per cent annual price increase in UK house prices in August, the strongest year-on-year rise since November 2022.
Nathan Emerson CEO at Propertymark, says: “It is always encouraging to see enhanced levels of consumer confidence within the housing market, and we now appear to be firmly following a positive trend of growth once again.
It is reassuring to witness the market moving forward from what has been a very fluid few years, where household affordability has been at near breaking point for many people.
"As the benefits of lower inflation and interest rates fully start to bed in, Propertymark is confident there will be further market growth as the year plays out.
We are, however, keen to see the UK Government’s housebuilding programme spring into action to help alleviate the ongoing mismatch between supply and demand, as it is essential to keep pace with an ever-growing population.”
Daniel Austin, CEO and co-founder at ASK Partners, writes: “We are continuing to see a month-on-month rise in house prices, which is hopefully the sign of an upward trend developing for the rest of the year.
The market certainly appears to be showing signs of resilience.
Everyone is waiting in anticipation of what the new government will do to drive construction of new homes and unlock the planning system, and it is likely that initiatives announced in the coming months will give the market a further boost.
“In the property investment world, rent values have seen sustained growth, positioning real estate as reasonably valued in comparison to gilts and presenting growth potential.
In the realm of commercial real estate, we have seen values hit the bottom and confidence return.
The market has picked up with opportunistic acquisitions of prime properties in prime locations.
“As a debt provider, we hope to support well-capitalised borrowers who understand their product and are looking at the best sites in prime locations with potential to add to their asset value.
Following this strategy, we aim to bolster developers' initiatives with the flexible underwriting approach that is necessary for navigating a changing market.
This will enable us to continue to offer opportunities for the growing number of private individuals opting to invest in property debt.”
Tom Brown, managing director, Real Estate at Ingenious, tells FM Magazine: “Today’s data shows that the resilience and appeal of the UK property sector persist.
Though we have seen higher inflation and sticky borrowing rates, we welcome the BoE’s recent rate cut and what will hopefully be the start of the much needed falling rate cycle.
“There's clearly a significant and notable shortage of housing inventory across various price brackets and locations.
Consequently, any decline in homeowner sales is likely counterbalanced by increased demand from renters and investors.
"This is a trend that is not going away.
However, it's crucial to recognise that the situation isn't consistent nationwide or across different property pricing brackets.
It's helpful to delve into subsectors and regional dynamics when assessing opportunities, as a broad market view can be misleading.
In the real estate sector, we’re seeing significant investment capital for assets for long-term rental.
On account of their scale and buying power, these typically institutional investors face fewer disruptions than owner occupiers or small-scale Buy-to-let investors."
