The Cost of Moving Forward

The latest edition of The Housing Brief explores a housing market where ambition remains strong, but the cost of acting on it has increased significantly. Higher mortgage rates, rising moving costs and economic uncertainty have made housing decisions more complex, even as people continue to buy their first home, move for family reasons, invest in property and plan for the future.

Drawing on data and insight from across Connells Group, this edition looks at how households and landlords are responding to a higher-cost environment, and what this means for activity across the housing market over the coming year.

The report covers the key property market sectors and explores the following main topics:

• Sales: affordability may be improving on paper, but higher borrowing and transaction costs continue to suppress discretionary moves, leaving committed buyers and sellers to drive activity.
• Lettings: thirty years after the introduction of the buy-to-let mortgage, landlords face a very different tax and regulatory environment, yet continue to adapt and seek opportunities in changing markets.
• New build buyers: find out more about the profile of today’s new homes buyer with our infographic spread. 
• Mortgages: first-time buyers are increasingly relying on different combinations of family support, higher loan-to-income lending and mortgage flexibility to overcome affordability challenges.
• Policy: as the government develops its proposed Your First Home scheme, we examine the lessons of Help to Buy and the implications for future housing delivery and affordability.

While challenges remain, the report finds that demand for homeownership, mobility and investment remains remarkably resilient. The path forward may be more expensive and more complex than it once was, but people continue to find ways to move, invest and plan for the future.

Explore the full report here.