Halifax predicts low price growth in 2020

Halifax expects house price growth to remain subdued at between 1% and 3% in 2020, saying that increases will remain low in a market where young buyers are held back by large deposit requirements. Halifax’s forecast for 2019 had suggested prices would rise by 2% and 4%, with prices subsequently climbing 2.1% over the year to November 2019. Russell Galley, Halifax’s managing director, said 2019 saw modest price growth supported by falling mortgage rates and a low volume of houses for sale, which “helped to underpin a degree of resilience in the market.” Prospects for 2020 appear “a bit brighter”, he added, “with uncertainty in the economy falling back somewhat, transactions volumes anticipated to pick up and further price increases made possible by growth in households’ real incomes”.

The Guardian (19/12/2019)   The Times (19/12/2019)