Market outlook

Interest rates are deemed to be at, or close to their peak so any improvement should start to lift sentiment. For the rest of 2023, expect continued low sale volumes and some price volatility but spring 2024 could mark an upturn.

Whilst one more 25bp rise in the Bank Rate is expected however, anything beyond that would be a risk to the fragile shoots of improved sentiment. So too any reversal in the downward trend in inflation.

The shock of rapid changes to interest rates in Q3 2022 triggered sharp quarterly price falls over the winter, in Q4 2022 and Q1 2023 but since then the market has stabilised and prices are actually higher today than they were at end Q1 2023.

Source: #Dataloft, Nationwide