The government’s independent forecaster has reflected on what impact yesterday’s Budget is going to have on the UK economy in the coming years, as well as house prices.
In documents released alongside the Spring Budget, the Office for Budget Responsibility is predicting that house prices will fall by 10% from their high in the last three months of 2022, with prices not expected to recover until 2027-28.
And property transactions are expected to drop by 20% from their peak at the end of last year too.
It says indicators from Halifax and Nationwide suggest that house prices have already fallen by 3 to 6% between their peak in the middle of 2022 and February 2023.
The OBR thinks low consumer confidence, the squeeze on real incomes and the expectation of mortgage rate rises to come will contribute to house prices continuing to fall and fewer of them being bought and sold.