The Intermediary – August 2025 - Flipbook - Page 16
RESIDENTIAL
Opinion
Grasp the opportunities
s the summer
holidays draw to a
close and September
approaches, it seems
a good time to take
stock of the second
half of the year. Back to school and
back to work always heralds a bump
in mortgage activity, and we expect no
difference this year.
A
The market outlook
Seing to one side politics – so
consistently changeable it seems
pointless to dwell too long on it – the
outlook for the housing market in the
UK is relatively benign.
Consumer price inflation rose by
3.6% in the 12 months to June 2025, up
from 3.4% in the 12 months to May,
according to the Office for National
Statistics (ONS). On a monthly basis,
the consumer price index (CPI) rose
by 0.3% in June 2025, compared with a
rise of 0.1% in June 2024.
Over the past year, the rate of
inflation has fallen a lot, and the
Bank of England is on record saying
“inflationary pressures have eased
enough” to allow for four rate cuts
over the past 12 months.
We saw a further quarter point
cut announced at August’s Monetary
14
The Intermediary | February 2025
Policy Commiee meeting, taking the
base rate down from 4.25% to 4.00%.
If price pressures continue to ease,
the Bank of England governor has
said there should be room to reduce
interest rates further over time.
When and by how much
depends on how the economy bears
up under ongoing global trade
negotiations, geopolitics and domestic
confidence levels.
Whether we see another cut before
2025 is up, mortgage rates are already
very competitive, with the lower end
of the risk curve priced significantly
below base. Multiple high street
lenders are already operating with
sub-4% rates, with best buys likely
to drop further in September if the
Bank does bring rates down. The usual
burst of September activity across
both purchase and remortgage will
also put pressure on lenders to keep
pricing down.
For those buying, it’s a keen market.
House prices have eased in many parts
of the country, with some aractive
opportunities now a realistic prospect
for those hoping to get onto the ladder
for the first time.
Rightmove’s July index showed the
average price of property coming to
the market for sale dropped by 1.2%
CRAIG HALL
is director, strategic
partnerships, financial services
at LSL Property Services
(-£4,531) that month, to £373,709. The
number of available homes is still at a
decade-high level, and agents told the
property platform that summer sellers
are pricing even more competitively to
aract buyer interest.
London has been the biggest
regional driver of new seller asking
price falls, down 1.5% and led by inner
London, which saw asking prices
down 2.1% on average.
