Yorkshire’s housing market stands up to rising interest rates and "economic turmoil"

Yorkshire based estate agent, Dacre, Son & Hartley, agreed sales on more than 100 homes in October alone, despite the government’s mini budget “fiasco” and rising mortgage rates, which suggests many homebuyers are undeterred by the “economic turmoil” of recent weeks.

In addition, despite Zoopla’s October UK House Price Index showing that new buyer demand has fallen by a third since the mini budget, the report also reveals that 48 per cent of buyers are currently using cash or smaller mortgages, of less than 50 per cent of the purchase price, to buy homes.

It also claimed that average house prices have risen by 8.7 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber over the past year, which compares to 8.1 per cent nationally.

Zoopla also identified that average mortgage rates have already spiked above 6 per cent, even before the Bank of England raised interest rates to 3 per cent at the start of November, and it expects mortgage rates to fall back to between 4 per cent and 5 per cent next year.

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley, which has 21 offices in West and North Yorkshire, commented: “Rising interest rates have made it tough for anyone looking for a new fixed-rate mortgage in recent months, but it seems that most lenders had already priced the latest rate hike into their deals.

“As a result, most experts now expect fixed rate deals to begin to fall, as they find their comfort zone. However, despite what’s happening in the mortgage markets, supply and demand remains a key factor for the property market and we agreed more than 100 sales in October, even after the disruption caused by the mini budget.

“After being starved of stock for sale in recent years, we now have almost 50 per cent more properties, either for sale or under offer, across our offices than this time last year and we still have lots of buyers registering with us who are searching for homes across West and North Yorkshire.

“We would also agree with Zoopla’s figures that approximately half of buyers are either using cash, or mortgages with a loan to value of less than 50 per cent. We could even see more of these buyers, as well as downsizers, entering the market during this window because the current conditions suit their circumstances.

“Plus, we know from experience that even when finances are more stretched, the key reasons for wanting or having to move up the ladder don’t go away.”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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