Horsham Property Market Analysis 2023: Resilience, Trends, and What to Expect in 2024!
In this blog, we explore the dynamics of the Horsham property market in 2023 and gain insights into the factors influencing house prices, transactions, and the overall property landscape. Discover why the market remained resilient despite economic challenges and get a glimpse into what 2024 may hold.
Market Resilience Amid Economic Challenges:
The property market in Horsham displayed remarkable resilience in 2023, a theme echoed nationally with new listings surpassing the 5-year average by 0.94%.
Despite high inflation and rising interest rates, the steady flow of new supply to the market showcased the market’s robustness.
There has not been a flood of new listings to the market from forced sellers having to sell due to the economic climate as many predicted would happen.
Mortgage Trends and Market Stability:
A significant shift in mortgage structures has contributed to market stability, with 85% of mortgages now on fixed rates, offering protection against economic uncertainties.
Prior to the Great Financial Crash, approximately half of mortgages were on fixed rates, and this caused a flood of properties to enter the market and prices dropped.
Since then, homeowners have been stress-tested for higher rates and hold more equity, preventing a flood of forced sellers and maintaining property values.
Transaction Challenges and Market Confidence:
Nationally transactions/completed sales dropped in 2023, down 15.22% from the 5-year average, and 20.52% from 2022 levels.
This is due to economic uncertainty, higher interest rates, reduced buying power, and lower buyer demand.
It must be noted that some sales from 2023 would not have filtered through yet as there is a lag on this data and so this number will increase over time, but will still be lower than recent years.
Buyer-Seller Mismatch:
The mismatch between buyer and seller expectations led to fewer transactions, with the highest discount on asking prices since 2019.
Overly optimistic pricing in 2023 resulted in a 9.49% higher average asking price, but the average sale price remained unchanged.
This shows that some sellers were too optimistic with their pricing and with buying power decreased, this meant buyers were not as forthcoming to purchase what they perceived to be overpriced properties.
Price Reductions and Selling Probability:
Nationally the number of price reductions in 2023 was 25% higher than the 5 year national average, indicating that properties priced too high faced challenges.
Research from Rightmove highlighted that properties reducing their asking price are 10% less likely to sell.
Only 50.89% of properties that came to market in 2023 went on to sell and this was 16.33% down on the 5-year average.
This highlights the importance of an accurate valuation when your property first comes to the market.
2024 Outlook: Stability and Growth:
At the start of 2024, the number of unsold properties is only 5.13% higher than the 6-year average.
With buyer demand returning and interest rates dropping, the market correction appears to be behind us, suggesting stable prices and higher transaction numbers in 2024.
Conclusion and Future Prospects:
Despite challenges in 2023, the Horsham property market is poised for stability and growth in 2024.
Prospective buyers and sellers should anticipate a more favourable environment as interest rates continue to decrease.
If you’d like to delve deeper into the Horsham property market or discuss your property needs, feel free to contact us.
Conclusion:
The Horsham property market in 2024 will be stronger than 2023. Prices are likely to rise slightly and borrowing costs are likely to reduce.
We don’t think the market will crash or rates will return to where they were 18 months ago. So if you are considering a move in 2024, then don’t delay. Why not make the most of this renewed positivity?
Josh opened Harris Wickens in 2023 following a successful 17 years working for a local independent estate agent. His success has been built on a vast local knowledge, coupled with a reputation for honesty, professionalism and a genuine care for his clients.
Having grown up in the Horsham area, Josh has an intimate knowledge of the local market and is experienced at selling a wide range of properties.
He lives in Horsham with his wife Helen, two young daughters and their Irish terrier ‘Teddy’, in a character cottage that they have lovingly restored and extended. He has always had a real affinity with period houses and is a keen sportsman, when time allows, he enjoys running, a round of golf or playing football.
Shortly after joining the industry in 2006, Josh obtained his NAEA Technical Award, and so has a comprehensive knowledge of the property industry which has been further enhanced through extensive training with the world’s top trainers.
