Housing market settles after rate hike

Following dip in the wake of November’s interest rate rise, transactions and mortgage approvals bounced back in January. However, buyer enquiries fell and house price expectations were subdued. As a result, the underlying picture – of a stagnant or gently declining housing market – was unchanged. This suggests that January’s rebound is unlikely to be repeated. Indeed, we think transactions will see only marginal gains across the remainder of 2018, while house price growth will be sluggish.