Over one third of homeowners plan to move house in the next 12 months following increased confidence in UK property market
Over one third of homeowners plan to move house over the next 12 months following increased confidence in the UK property market, according to new research from leading self storage provider, Ready Steady Store.
The research, which surveyed members of the public on their perceptions of the UK property sector following the General Election outcome, also revealed a further 22% of homeowners are currently undecided on a house move.
Despite this, 39% of consumers believe the UK property market will actually improve under the new Labour Government, with 35% reporting increased confidence in the market, and 31% ‘somewhat confident’ new policies will actually help first-time buyers to climb onto the property ladder.
Although 42% of consumers have reported that the General Election outcome has neither decreased or increased their confidence in the UK property market, a massive 76% believe the Labour Government should prioritise housing affordability.
This research comes as the Bank of England slashed interest rates for the first time in four years, with the base rate reducing O.25% to 5% – automatically driving down mortgage rates from large high street lenders Halifax, Santander and NatWest.
Other key takeouts from the research include:
- 33% of consumers believe high interest rates and high property prices are the biggest challenges facing the UK property market
- 34% of consumers believe lowering interest rates would have the biggest impact on the property market, with 33% believing an increased housing supply would improve market conditions
- 26% have reported an increase in property prices in their local area since the General Election with 54% advising they have stayed the same
- Only 26% of respondents believe that interest rates will continue to decrease over the next 12 months, with 28% believing they will remain stable
Discussing the research, Mehran Charania, Director of Ready Steady Store, said: “The UK property sector has faced considerable challenges in recent years amidst volatile mortgage rates and uncertain market conditions. However, the proposed housing policies from the new Labour Government combined with a reduction in the Bank of England base rate has clearly increased confidence, as affirmed by our research.
As such, I think many homeowners previously uncertain about a house move will now take the plunge and put their property on the market, driving both sector and economic uplift as a result – so watch this space.”
Established in 2005, Ready Steady Store is a fast-growing self storage provider with cost effective storage units located in the Midlands, and South, North and East of England.
With a total of 23 stores, Ready Steady Store prides itself in offering cost-effective and flexible self storage solutions to aid the house moving process.