Property Drop Issue 43

2 MARKET FORECAST
2019 Property Market
forecast by region
While house prices are expected to remain broadly flat across the UK as a whole,
there will continue to be significant regional divergence.
Many commentators are penciling in house
price falls in London and the south, while
northern regions are likely to see modest gains.
Even so, a raft of factors are stacked against the
property market, including uncertainty over how the
UK will leave the EU, the prospect of rising interest rates
and the ongoing shortage of homes for sale.
Zoopla take a look at how the different regions are
likely to fare next year, assuming the UK exits the EU
with a deal in place.
London
The slowdown in London began in mid-2016 and
this trend is expected to continue into 2019.
Hansen Lu, property economist at Capital
Economics, says: “London has seen a build-up of homes
that are struggling to sell and a rise in more determined
sellers.
“If you look at the London market above £800,000
the time taken to sell a house is now almost a year. The
higher up the market you go, the longer it is taking.”
He adds that affordability in London is already
stretched and the situation will only get worse if interest
rates rise.
“Overall we expect house prices in London to fall by
5% during the year,” he says.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research, Hamptons
International, is slightly less pessimistic, pencilling in a
fall of 2%, due to Brexit uncertainty hitting confidence
and stretched affordability limiting demand.
She says: “The wider London market is feeling the
effects of stretched affordability. The more affordable
outer boroughs that have led the way over the last
couple of years are slowing and we expect this to
continue as more buyers are pushed further outside the
capital.”
Hometrack, a sister company of Zoopla, is also
predicting a 2% price fall in London.
Richard Donnell, insight director at Hometrack,
says: “We expect prices to continue to fall in most areas
of central London. “Our projection for a 2% fall in
overall London prices will reduce the earnings ratio to
12.8 times, in line with levels last recorded in mid-2015.”
Southern regions
The slowdown in London has already started to
ripple out to southern regions and this trend is expected
to continue in 2019.
Beverage says buoyant house price growth in the east
of England means affordability pressures there are now
biting. As a result, she expects property values in the
region to fall by 2% during the year.
Monmouth - One of the
happiest places to live
Right move surveyed residents the length and breadth of Great Britain in their annual ‘Happy at Home Index’
and the results were released at the end of last year: these are the five happiest places to live.
• Leigh-on-Sea has been crowned the happiest place to live in Great Britain for the second
time in three years
• In second place is Farnham
• Taking third place on the podium is Monmouth in Wales
• Christchurch in Dorset scooped fourth, while Leamington Spa also made it into the top
five
• Rightmove’s annual Happy at Home Index asks residents how happy they are where they
live, based on 12 happiness factors, across 219 areas in Great Britain
• Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, Farnham in Surrey, Monmouth in Wales, Christchurch in Dorset
and Leamington Spa in Warwickshire are where residents feel happiest this year.
More than 21,000 people across Great Britain took part in the Rightmove survey, which
asks residents how happy they are where they live, as well as asking them to rank 12
happiness factors.
The 12 factors range from how safe residents feel and how friendly the neighbours are, to
how good the local services are and the quality of green spaces and cultural activities in the
area.To mark such glittering scores, we have shone a light on these communities to showcase
some of the finest properties in the happiest towns, villages and districts in Great Britain.