Usually, the Autumn is a busy time for estate agents. September and October see a sharp increase in the number of properties not only going on the market but selling too. However, this Autumn, the expectation is that this increase should be even greater than usual.

There are a number of factors which contribute to this increase. In a typical year, the end of the summer holidays mean that people whose plans, that have been put off until they're back from their holidays, start to realise those plans. Most of all, people who want to try and move before Christmas or early into the New Year have to act now or risk seeing their plans timescale pushed deeper into the following year. 

Yet, as we all know, the last couple of years have been particularly tough for the property market. House prices across the country have stagnated and even dropped slightly and the Bank of England's rates caused mortgage rates to consistently increase before peaking at the highest rates seen in over a decade. Also, there have been global events and politics which have also caused their fair share of impact on the property market.

However, now the election has been and gone and the Bank of England have lowered the base interest rate for the first time since March 2020, with more anticipated decreases hopefully to come in the foreseeable future, buyers and sellers alike are starting to gain a bit more confidence. Each person has very unique reasons why they may need to move and a lot of people have been holding out for a crumb of comfort for some time. All of these recent events should lead to a larger than normal increase in property activity.

Rightmove raises its 2024 forecast from -1% to +1% due to positive market data and trends compared to the much more subdued 2023:

• The number of sales being agreed is now 16% ahead of the near-peak-mortgage-rate period of a year ago
• The number of new sellers coming to market is 5% ahead of last year as confidence to move grows

Rightmove's weekly mortgage tracker shows that the average 5-year fixed mortgage rate is now 4.80%, an improvement from 5.82% a year ago:

• The best available 5-year fixed rate is now 3.83% for those with a 40% deposit, the lowest a 5-year fixed rate has been since the period before the mini-Budget in September 2022

So if you, like many others, are dreaming about your forever home, or are looking to downsize or retire to the beach, now is the perfect time to get in touch to discuss your plans with us. We can complete a free no-obligation valuation with you to see what your property is worth and discuss all of our amazing features we include, as standard, within our marketing package. Also, if you're already on the market but struggling to sell, this is the perfect time to take a fresh approach on selling your property.

Please contact Lewis & Catherine at EweMove Ashby de la Zouch on their 24/7 number 01530 442356, email on [email protected] or visit www.EweMove.com/AshbydelaZouch