According to the House Buyer Bureau, based on data from marketing consultancy TwentyCi, 78,042 property sales fell through during the second quarter of 2022
New figures have revealed an increase in the number of property sales falling through, as soaring mortgage rates leave buyers facing sharply increased borrowing costs. The findings came as a senior figure at Nationwide warned UK house prices could fall by 30%.
According to the House Buyer Bureau, based on data from marketing consultancy TwentyCi, 78,042 property sales fell through during the second quarter of 2022. This is a 2% increase on the first quarter and a 9% rise year-on-year.
This marks the first quarterly increase in fall-throughs since the peak of 87,817 during the second quarter of last year, amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, the level of transactions falling through remains 11% lower than it was in Q2 2021.
Experts are now warning that the UK housing market could be set for a sharp correction over the next 12 months.
Chris Rhodes, chief finance officer at Nationwide, told MPs that the building society’s “worst case” scenario would be a 30% slump in house prices.
Rhodes added that Nationwide’s central scenario was for a more modest decline of 8-10%. However, he said, this was “not a forecast”, with much uncertainty continuing to surround the UK housing market.
Nationwide’s house price index revealed this week that prices had fallen by 0.9% month-on-month in October. This is the first monthly fall in 15 months and the largest since June 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic was at its height.
The outlook for the UK property market continues to darken. The Bank of England today (October 3) raised its base rate by 0.75% to 3%, adding to the misery facing mortgage holders and would-be buyers facing higher monthly repayments.
This is the single biggest increase in the base rate in 33 years. The base rate is now expected to peak at somewhere around 4.75-5% next year, though this would be lower than previous forecasts indicated.
