Hopes high for level UK property market in 2023 after last year's 'unprecedented' trends

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - UK property markets will hopefully flatten out in 2023, according to a property expert as the country left behind an unsteady year in which prices went up and down.

In the last year, rising mortgage rates and costs of living added to the enduring effects of the coronavirus pandemic, not only on house prices but on the entire property market.

Though the housing shortage and demand are still high, this year is expected to at least not be as bad as 2022.

Speaking to Anadolu, Shadot Miah, lettings director at Hunters Estate Agents in London, said the property market was "up and down" last year for them.

"Last year, we experienced a very quiet first quarter. The second quarter, it was picking up and the last quarter was absolutely busy."

He said that the main problem was stock issues, especially towards end of the year, as people were coming back to Britain after easing the pandemic measures.

"Everyone started to come back in London," said Miah, who has 20 years of experience as a real estate agent.

Another factor in the shortage was the longer-term contracts made during the pandemic, as uncertainty drove agents to make contracts of two or three years between tenants and landlords.

In October 2022, private rents in the UK hit record highs, with rises of up to 20% in some areas, while the total number of available properties fell by 9%.

- 'Rising expenses hit hard'

"It was an all-season market ... I've been through Brexit stamp duty, I've seen that market. I've seen the market with the credit crunch in 2007. I've experienced that all in one year last year," added Miah.

Describing 2022 as an "unprecedented year," however, Miah said he expected the market to flatten out and see "a bit more consistency" in 2023.

"I think rentals will be coming back to normality. I think we're possibly coming back on the market," he said, adding that the seller's market would remain "tough."

Comparing the effects of Brexit, the pandemic, and the ongoing economic turbulence on property market, Miah said all these went hand-in-hand but that rising expenses was a serious issue as they "hit people hard."

Touching on rising in rent caused by a surge in inflation and mortgage rates, he said it may drive people to move to different areas if living costs continue to climb.

Miah said that "a lot of tenants who can't afford to live in (central) London, who don't need to live in London," would likely leave the city center in favor of the suburbs.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), more than 1.4 million households in the UK are facing the prospect of interest rate hikes as they renew their fixed-rate mortgages in 2023.