LONDON, Aug. 30 (Ivecom).- Home sales in the kingdom will end this year at their lowest level since 2012 due to high mortgage rates and inflation, according to an estimate by real estate portal Zoopla.
In a report published on Wednesday, the company predicts that 21% fewer homes will be sold than a year ago, while rising prices are stagnant.
The path so far this year allows Zoopla to predict that 2023 will close with nearly 1 million sales nationwide, the lowest number since 2012.
That number of transactions would be equivalent to each family moving their home every 23 years, much higher than the average time it usually takes to move, which is eight years.
“The impact of rising interest rates and the cost of living clearly affects people’s willingness to move into a new home,” said Richard Donnell, head of research at Zoopla.
According to the study, the number of sales in which a mortgage is used will decrease by 28% this year compared to the previous year.
However, cash transactions, which will account for one in three sales, will only decrease by 1% compared to 2022.
For their part, home prices practically stagnated through August, with growth of just 0.1%, the lowest rate since 2012.
Despite this, there are significant regional differences in prices: in London and the south of England, the most expensive markets, prices fell by around 1%, while in Scotland they rose by 1.7% and in the northwest of England by 0.1%. Aficom
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