House prices hit a new high
In May, house prices hit their 11th month of increase, with a further 1% rise on the average property price in the UK. This equates to £2857 with a new average house price of £289,099. Annual property price growth remains at 10.5%, but it is now showing signs of slowing. This means that selling up and downsizing now will mean that you benefit from these elevated prices.
Although the house you buy next will have risen in price too, the difference in price due to moving to something smaller may leave you with a generous profit. This could be used to renovate your new property should it need work, pay off any debt that you may have, or use it to help you with the rising cost of living.
What does the rising cost of living mean for the property market?
At the moment, despite the rising cost of living, house demand is high - which is why property prices continue to rise. This is because there’s still a lot of demand for houses but supply remains low.
The unprecedented rise in inflation (which is predicted to continue rising) being seen in the UK at the moment, means that the Bank of England has responded by increasing the interest rate to 1% - this was just 0.25% in December. This makes mortgage payments higher.
Despite this high demand for property, people now have less disposable income, suggesting that the housing market will slow down as house prices increase. So now could be the best time to capitalize by downsizing your home.
Why do people downsize?
There are several reasons for downsizing a home. Here are just some of them:
- A smaller property is easier to manage and will leave you more time for hobbies, socialising, and relaxing
- Smaller homes come with smaller bills as there’s less heating required and the maintenance costs are lower
- You might fancy a change of scenery so can move location and downsize in the process
- Raise money through the sale of your home that could be used to pay off debts or put away for a rainy day
- Children have left home so you no longer need as many bedrooms
If you’ve decided to downsize and take advantage of the current property market, contact us if you’d like to sell your property in Salisbury - our professional team would love to help!
