Demand for Property and Remortgages Set to Increase in Beginning of Year
The housing market may be chilling, but property values are due to stay on a slow and steady increase next year which should come as good news to property owners. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), demand for property will remain above supply next year. House prices are set to increase by 3% next year on the average, in some areas of the UK there could be increases of as much as 5%.
The stamp duty payment tier was overhauled and that is expected to push demand up next year. Continued low interest rates offered by lenders will keep home shoppers interested as rental fees continue to outpace mortgage repayments on the average.
Simon Rubinsohn, the RICS chief economist, said, “The recently announced and long overdue reform of stamp duty is likely to provide a tonic for the market across many parts of the country, particularly for first-time buyers.
“That said, the bigger affordability issue is not going to go away, highlighting just how important it is to speed up the supply pipeline of new homes over the coming years.”
Remortgage demand has continued to remain low, but as property values continue to rise and increase homeowner equity levels, the opportunity to take out cash could prove attractive. Cash release as well as gaining a low interest rate with a long fixed term rate would be a combination too good to pass over.
Lenders are due to keep low interest rate offers on both mortgages and remortgages till the beginning of the year.