The housing market is often thought to be either 'slowing down' or 'hotting up'. Tabloid newspapers love to use the words 'crash' and 'boom', implying prices change direction overnight, when in actual fact we know from experience the trends are much more gradual. Right now perhaps a sensible way to describe the market might be 'freeing up'? Let us explain.
From early 2020 the supply or available stock of properties gradually became tighter and tighter as demand increased due to factors such as record-low interest rates, restricted overseas travel, and more people working remotely.
As such, by late 2020, one really had to be in a 'cash' position as a buyer in Cornwall and most other coastal and rural parts of the UK, making it virtually impossible to move within the market (i.e. sell and buy at the same time, actually moving house). This trend continued through to 2022 as market activity almost came to a standstill, but through the first half of 2023, we have seen this tight market gradually freeing up at last.
For the first time since 2019, we have seen a healthy stock of properties coming to the market this spring. Many of these sellers weren't ready to go to the market in spring 2021 or 2022 due to the fact the pandemic was still with us - or at least definitely not far behind us. At the same time, many of those buyers who didn't know Cornwall but rushed to buy during the lockdown years (thinking they would never be able to travel abroad ever again?!) have, of course, gone abroad again!!
So the good news for buyers is that you might not need to be in a 'cash' position to secure the property you want to buy and might also escape bidding over the guide price against ten other buyers - which surely as a buyer is a good thing?! For sellers who wish to move home, for the first time in a few years it should be possible to find a buyer for your own home and then buy your next property without ending up on the street!
It may be that prices fall back a bit for a year or two, (or really that some of the temporary 'pandemic premiums' are no longer there) but as it is impossible to time the top or bottom of the market, as ever it is best to focus on the long term. After all, is your house worth less or more than it was 10, 20, or 50 years ago? We all know the answer to that one.