What can we expect from the property market in 2023?

Over the last couple of years, the property market has been good for landlords. Rental stock has been low, while demand from tenants has been high, and that’s pushed rents up. Meanwhile, average house prices rose well through the pandemic, building equity for property owners.

But what can landlords expect from the property market this year?

The rental market

An ongoing shortage of homes to rent versus very strong demand means 2023 should continue to be ‘a landlords’ market’. We expect further rental growth and, with plenty of prospective tenants to choose from, securing a great tenant, with our help, should be achievable. The other bonus for you is that with so many applicants for almost every property, it greatly reduces the risk of voids between tenancies.

Two important things to bear in mind:

1. If you want to attract the best tenants, you need to offer them a great home. That means having good-quality fittings, a high standard of décor, a property that’s easy and cost-effective to keep warm – plus eco-friendly features. 
    
2. Every occupant of the property must be thoroughly referenced and credit checked to confirm they are eligible to rent, can afford the rent and are likely to be good tenants who will treat your property well. Doing this yourself can take a while and cause a void period. We can do this quickly for you on a let only or management basis, and often we already have a fully referenced, registered tenant looking for a property like yours to come to the market. 

Property prices

If you’re thinking of buying or selling property this year, it’s important to know that although average property prices are being reported to fall by some indices, this is more on a month on month basis as opposed to year on year and month on month data can be erratic. For example, Rightmove showed month on month falls of 2.1% in December 22, but January 23 reported a rise of 0.9%.

As far as 2023 is concerned, the reality is that some property industry forecasters are pretty far apart with their predictions on whether and how far prices will drop in the next year or so. While Capital Economics suggests there could be falls of up to 15% if things go the way of the last couple of recessions, Zoopla is much more positive, predicting just a 5% fall if rates remain stable.  

These averages are useful to give you a rough idea of the overall market climate, but each area will have its own micro-market – and that could be very different from the national picture. That’s why it’s vital to take advice from people who are experts in your particular area, to help you understand local supply and demand and what’s likely to happen to prices and rents over the next few years. Just give our team in your nearest Your Move branch a call and they’ll be happy to talk you though the latest local trends and data.