The start to 2019 saw a continuation of many of the trends that were apparent towards the end of 2018, namely that there was still significant disaggregation between regional performance, and further nuances between price brackets in key conurbations. With values increasing slightly on a monthly basis in Wales, Scotland, the North East and East of England, and reports across our network of a busy month with buyer enquiries, we would suggest that there is plenty of steam left in the market in parts of the country, albeit that other areas are perhaps seeing some potential movers taking the ‘wait and see’ approach until there is more clarity around the current political situation.

This has led to reports of shortages of stock in some areas, as vendors who would like to move are also holding on until such time as the market in their area improves, providing a degree of insulation for values even where there are fewer buyers who are currently active. With many lenders entering the final quarter of their financial year in January, the market saw a raft of new and highly competitive rates released which added further support for the market as fixed-term product pricing fell to near-historically low levels.

Overall, it would seem that pent-up demand is building in many areas, due to the number of well intentioned buyers and sellers who had hoped that the political uncertainty would have abated by now. Therefore, whilst market sentiment may be one of caution in some areas for the short-term, the mid to longer-term view could well be more optimistic once we have a Brexit denouement.

On a topline basis data for Wales is as follows:

Wales Average Statistics – January 2019 data Purchase Mortgage Remortgage Average LTV % 77% 62.5% Average loan size £133,484 £125,808 Average age 36 42 Average income £30,788 £32,152 Average property value £172,460 £201,293

Richard Hullin from Mortgage Advice Bureau in Swansea comments: