How house price forecasts have shifted in just one month.
Analysis shows that house price forecasts have improved within just one month and have seen a significant turnaround compared to a year ago...
The Treasury regularly gathers independent forecasts to give an idea of how City analysts and think tanks expect different parts of the UK economy to perform.
In the most recent report for August 2024, the average forecast for annual house price growth from City analysts is 2%, with independent think tanks also predicting 2%.
These predictions vary, with Oxford Economics forecasting a high of 3.8% growth, while CEBR predicts a decline of 2%. The median forecast stands at 2% growth.
This comes as estate agents and property market experts observe that easing inflation and a recent interest rate cut are increasing housing demand, which could positively impact sales and prices.
It's already a step up from July, where the highest forecast was 2%, the lowest was a 2.5% decline, and the median was 0.8% growth.
A year ago, with rising mortgage rates and 6.7% inflation, the best outlook for house prices was a 0.2% drop, and the worst was an 11.7% decline.
This highlights how much can change in a year and suggests that house price forecasts may not be worth worrying about too much.