Wellingborough Property Market Update – January 2023

Property prices have recently been subjected to some doom and gloom in the media, so I’ve taken a closer look at what is happening with asking prices in Wellingborough up to and including December 2022.

Following a steady rise for the year, there was a small dip in the asking prices of properties for sale in May and June. This is usually expected during this period as people are away on holiday and/or are enjoying the summer weather.

Since this dip, the average asking price has risen for six consecutive months, reaching its current high of £277,757, 7.8% (£20,082) higher than in January 2021.

As you can see in the graph, asking prices for new properties coming to the market and the average asking price of all properties for sale are beginning to converge, leading me to believe that new vendors to the market are being more realistic with their asking prices.

The number of properties that are being reduced has dropped too. In December, 6% of properties had a price reduction. Much lower than the 10.3% in November, but still higher than the 2022 average of 4.8%.

This could be seasonal, but in 2021, price reductions only accounted for 1.5% and 1.9% of all properties for sale in November and December of that year respectively.

The number of properties for sale took an expected seasonal dip, but I expect this to bounce back in the coming months. To what extent remains to be seen.

What Will Happen In 2023?

Rightmove’s latest figures revealed that 2022 ended with new seller asking prices 5.6% higher than a year ago. Rightmove’s analysis also revealed the number of views of homes listed on its site were up 11% in December, compared to the same period in 2021. The desire to move home remains strong as we start 2023.

The burning question for 2023 is ‘will house prices fall?’. Earlier sensationalised predictions of 15%-30% falls have been replaced by more realistic, single-digit predictions. In December, Rightmove forecast a future drop of an overall average of 2%. As a caveat, it says hyper-local markets will emerge, with some locations, property types and sectors faring better than others.

The portal’s price forecast is not too dissimilar to another by a respected source. The Nationwide says a ‘relative soft landing’ for the sales market could be achieved in 2023. As a result, the building society says an approximate 5% fall in house prices may lie ahead.

Those planning a property purchase in 2023 should take heart from activity noted in December. Zoopla says reductions in the cost of Government borrowing have had a positive effect on mortgage rates. The trend was downwards at the end of 2022, with fixed mortgage rates falling, despite an interest rate hike.

There’s also good news for those remortgaging. December also saw the Government and mortgage regulators announce a move set to help during the cost of living crisis. They agreed that existing borrowers who are up-to-date with repayments won’t have to complete a new affordability test when remortgaging to a different deal.

The Rental Market

The average asking rent dropped to £771 PCM. The lowest figure since May 2022.

Usually, when we see the number of available properties drop, the asking price increases, though with the Christmas period many people are looking to move which may have seen a lower demand. The coming months will give us a better indication of how the local rental market is performing.

Zoopla’s forecast is bittersweet. While it thinks the rate at which rents will rise over the coming year will slow, new renters will still be paying more. It predicts rents attached to new tenancies will rise 5% in 2023, compared to the 12% uplift seen in 2022.