UK housing market stabilizes following rise in "mini-budget" rates

LONDON: The average price of properties coming on the market in Britain stabilized in March and activity is going back towards more normal pre-pandemic levels following last year's "mini-budget" crisis. (Reported by news source)

However, this month's growth was below the 1.0% average monthly increase for March over the last 20 years with property sellers more cautious than usual about pricing.

higher mortgage rates and economic headwinds posed challenges but the housing market seemed to be stabilizing more quickly than expected after its hit in late 2022.

While borrowing costs have eased from their peak, they are still nearly double their level before former prime minister Liz Truss's unfunded tax cut plans - part of her "mini-budget" in September of last year - which caused turmoil in bond markets.

The squeeze on incomes and rising borrowing costs, according to the Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR), Britain's official budget forecasters, are expected to cause a 10% decline in house prices this year.