In 2023, property sales plummeted by an astonishing £141 billion, signaling a significant decrease in market activity.
Last year, property worth around £154.7 billion was sold in England, a sharp decline from the £295.7 billion sold in 2022.
This information was gathered from a study of Land Registry data by the real estate agency platform eXp UK.
Adam Day, the lead at eXp UK, commented: “The property market faced tough times in 2023. High-interest rates and general market uncertainty made many potential buyers hesitate, and those who did buy were cautious.
“Although this led to a yearly drop in average house prices, the decrease was quite small. All things considered, the property market has held up well.
“Yet, when you look at the total value of the properties sold, these small price drops really start to accumulate.”
The dip in spending was due to harsher market conditions, with rising interest rates affecting the buying power of consumers. This affected both the prices buyers were prepared to pay and the number of buyers willing to make a purchase.
Consequently, the average house price in England ended the year with a 2.1% decrease from the previous year.
London felt the biggest impact among the regions of England, with the average value of a house dropping by 4.8%.
Day concluded: “The positive aspect is that with a halt on interest rate increases, inflation rates decreasing, and potential cuts to the base rate, the market is showing signs of recovery as buyers start to return. Therefore, we’re anticipating the total value of property sales in 2024 to bounce back from last year’s downturn.”
