Two Bristol property experts are forecasting that house prices are to drop in "a difficult year ahead". This comes as the Bank of England forecast the UK will fall into a recession this year, with inflation rising above 10 per cent for the first time since the 1980s back in July while the energy price cap nearly doubled last month.
Property experts have now predicted what they believe will happen with property prices in the city over the next few months. Robert Payne, director of Langley House Mortgages, said: "The number of properties coming to market in Bristol has reduced but there is enough to keep estate agents busy.
"The properties that are coming to market are not flying off the shelves like they were a few months ago but they are still going for asking price, at reasonable speed. There is a sense of apprehension though within the market that we could be seeing the tip of an unwanted iceberg and if the reduction in activity continues in the same linear momentum we could be faced with a difficult year ahead, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect a slight reduction in house prices after such sharp increases.
Read next: The people who won't be paying their energy bills when the price caps rises
"That said, there is a lot which could influence this and Liz Truss could significantly impact what the future looks like, for better or for worse."
Mr Payne also shared his thoughts on the rental market in the city. He said: "The rental market in Bristol continues to see huge levels of demand and a severe lack of options for tenants as more and more landlords withdraw from the market.
"The squeeze on rental income combined with the additional regulation has given many landlords enough reason to sell up an restructure their investments, which is ironic because much of the new regulation was designed to protect tenants. In reality it has reduced available rentals as most of them being sold are bought as residentials rather than buy to lets, creating fierce competition amongst tenants and increases in rent costs."
Graham Cox, founder of the Bristol-based broker SelfEmployedMortgageHub.com: “For us, August was still busy but we've noticed a marked change in buyer sentiment since the new energy cap was announced.
"Whilst some lenders attempt to mitigate the effects of higher mortgage rates by increasing their maximum loan-to-income ratios, that's mainly for employed applicants. The self-employed are largely restricted to 4.5 times income.
"Property prices have ballooned to increasingly absurd levels over the past two years and are unsustainable. I believe we'll see a 5-10% fall over the next year.
"We actually need house prices to not increase at all for about a decade or more, to allow wages to catch up."
Read next:
