The newspapers are full of predictions of a national property crash.
The broadcast media are pumping out doom and gloom about the housing market’s prospects.
And ‘experts’ on social media and the local ‘pub professors’ are forecasting the end of the world (sometimes literally) but with little to no evidence.
But wait, the opening three paragraphs sum up what people were writing and saying about the property sector in 2023.
And none of these forecasts came true – a fact that’s worth bearing in mind next time you flick through the news headlines.
Yes, we’re in uncertain times, and many of us are up against it financially, but there are reasons for property owners to remain positive and calm in 2025.
At times like this, it’s worth remembering (and paraphrasing) a line from Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem If.
“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…”
Here’s why we believe property owners should be optimistic as we enter the new year.
- It’s not 2008. When the credit crunch happened, banks and financial institutions stopped lending money – in some cases overnight. This is not the case now, which means things won’t be anywhere near as bad as they were for the property market back then. And although the criteria are getting stricter, people can still get mortgages, and interest rates seem to be headed in one direction – down.
- Experts can help. The job of the media is to get your attention and keep it. And bad news does that much more than good news, meaning coverage of impending catastrophes is a media mainstay. So, our advice is to speak to us and/or an independent mortgage adviser for an informed opinion on what’s happening in the local property market.
- People are moving. The market has slowed a little, but that’s mainly because it’s been 100mph since the first lockdown lifted in 2020. And despite the political changes and global uncertainty, people are still looking for new places to call home. We’re seeing people wanting to downsize, upsize and sell to release equity in their homes. When you add this to the perennial reasons of death, divorce and debt, you can understand that the market hasn’t (and won’t) grind to a juddering halt.
So, our message to property owners and property seekers is to remember Mr Kipling’s (the poet, not the baker) advice.
If you want an expert opinion on what’s really happening in the housing market locally, give us a call.
Thanks for reading, and wishing you all a healthy, happy and prosperous 2025.
