MORTGAGE & PROPERTY NEWS
September 2022
Slowing market as demand dips again
The UK residential market continues to slow at a steady pace, the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Survey and Savills’ Housing Market Update both indicate, as demand wanes and supply remains low.
New buyer enquiries fell for a third consecutive month in July, the RICS report showed, with a headline rate of -25%. This is comparable to June’s reading (-27%) and means the market has now endured the longest stretch of falling demand since the early pandemic days. New instructions, meanwhile, remain stagnant, with a net balance of -5%.
The Savills report paints a similarly slowing picture; total transactions recorded by HM Revenue and Customs were 96,000 for June, 13% lower than the pre pandemic average for the month. Mortgage approvals were also slightly below average, according to the Bank of England.
One key trend noted by Savills is the increased representation of first-time buyers (FTBs) in the mortgage market. Almost 31,000 new loans were granted to FTBs in May, according to UK Finance, while new mortgages for home movers fell by 22%.