First signs of the Housing Market stabilising

The latest June 2021 figures from the Nationwide Building Society House Price Index were quite spectatcular - house prices across the UK have increased by 13.4% in the last 12 months with the 'Outer South East' showing a 10.9% increase.  It's been the busiest market for years with transaction volumes estimated at 115,000 in England during the month of May alone.


With interest rates set to remain low and a further 3 months before the end of the stamp duty holiday, Nationwide predict:

 “Underlying demand is likely to remain solid in the near term as the economy unlocks. Consumer confidence has rebounded while borrowing costs remain low. This, combined with a lack of supply on the market, suggests further upward pressure on prices".

Estate Agents are always closer to the market than any other professional in the housing market - more in touch with buyers and sellers than surveyors, banks or solicitors.  So, here at Trigg & Co Isle of Wight, the top selling Island Estate Agency Office, we sense the prevailing market conditions before the results get seen in the press or the published house price indexes - and we see a return to a more normal market with some of the frenetic activity of recent months cooling off.

Source: Nationwide Building Society June 2021 HPI report.

It's still a very active and bouyant market and we do not anticpate price falls.  But we do predict much greater price stability in the summer and autumn months with 'normal' levels of viewings, offers and sales - and very gently rising prices for the most popular areas and homes.

The one thing which could change that 'stable market' scenario is a continuing lack of new instructions.  Property coming to the market has been slow throughout 2021 and the choice for buyers has been limited.  We currently have only around a quarter of the housing stock for sale that we would normally expect, and if that situation continues, it will inevitably exert upward pressure on prices as buyers compete for scarce stock.

It remains a good time to sell with just one or two words of warning.

The first is to price realistically, taking account of recent sales without an expectation of prices rising another 10% in the months ahead.  Your chosen agent should be able to show you hard evidence of recent sales and to demonstrate how other properties like yours that are on the market have performed.

Secondly, plan your move and don't get forced into a situation where you have to sell in a very short timeframe, 'take an offer', or agree a sale without being able to find the right buyer - who can proceed and move in the timetable that works for you.

As always, it's advisable to get your own house under offer before you find your next property to buy.  It puts you in a far better bargaining position and means you will be taken seriously as a buyer.  Whether prices are going up or down, if you are moving up-market the only thing that matters is 'the price to change'.

We see that remaing stable over the rest of 2021 with a healthy but steady market on the Island.


Two huge advantages for Island sellers have emerged as a result of the pandemic.  To start with, the island has been well and truly 'put on the map' as a great place to live, work from home and have a second home by the sea.  Secondly, with the 'staycation boom' about to happen this summer, many holidaymakers will get their first real taste of the Island and all it has to offer.  This will undoubtedly continue to feed the local market and help keep prices bouyant.

It's steady as she goes from what we are seeing right now.