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2022: An Outlook

Happy New Year to you all; we at OneSearch hope you were able to rest and recuperate over the festive break, especially after such a hectic year for the industry, and a turbulent twelve months across the wider world.

As we ring out the old and ring in the new, we can look forward with some positivity to the coming year – the UK housing market continues its upward climb, with 2021 ending as the strongest calendar year for annual house price growth since 2006.

There is some caution, however, brought about by the latest coronavirus variant Omicron, and what effects it may have on the housing market, viewings, and restrictions for conveyancers.

We recently caught up with OneSearch Managing Director, Elizabeth Jarvis, for her thoughts on the year ahead:

 

“When asked to consider the outlook for 2022, I think we all have an inkling that the year may well start a little slower than we would like it to, driven by a gentler-than-desired supply of properties to the residential market, plus overall concerns relating to the continuation of restrictions driven by the pandemic.

I believe new build property and the commercial market will however start with more of a steady momentum, yet residential may take a while to catch-up. I don’t however believe this will be long-lived and in the late springtime believe we will start to emerge from the colder months with a renewed vigour, and people wanting more normality and to get moving once again.

It will be interesting to see if lenders introduce new products to help entice more people to market their homes in the first half of the new year. If this is combined with new build activities, we should see the residential space open up more as we move through the year.

What impact do I think this may have on our customer-base? I believe competition will remain strong with home buyers and sellers likely to shop around to find a legal professional that meets their needs and can offer the assurances of a speedy and certain completion.

In 2022, a recalibration of the market has got to happen and, as the market finds its new normal, I’m certain we will have more wind behind us as we enter the spring of 2022.”

 


What are your predictions on the coming year? We’d love to hear them! Email us at digitalmarketing@onesearchdirect.co.uk or message us on our social channels and let us know.

As ever, we look forward to helping you and your firm prosper in 2022.

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