The number of UK homes sold this year is expected to fall to the lowest level in more than a decade, as soaring mortgages rates deter homebuyers.
House sales reaching completion are expected to fall 21% year-on-year to about 1 million in 2023, the lowest level since 2012, according to a report from the property website Zoopla.
“Clearly, the impact of higher interest rates and cost of living is affecting people’s desire to move home,” said Richard Donnell, head of research at Zoopla.
The study estimated a year-on-year fall of 28% in mortgage-backed sales, although cash purchases were forecast to drop by 1% compared with 2022, accounting for one in three sales.
Donnell said transaction volumes were “feeling the pinch, and it’s no surprise it’s the mortgage market where the biggest squeeze is being felt”.
Donnell said the resilience of cash transactions had been fuelled in part by house purchases by retirees, who had paid off mortgages and were seeking to downsize and free up cash in the face of higher living costs.