House prices are falling, but here’s why it would be wrong to give up on bricks and mortar

Even a 5% dip would still leave average house values 14% higher than before the pandemic, says property financier Simon Gammon

Declines must be seen in context, says Simon Gammon of Knight Frank (PA Archive)

Homeowners can be forgiven for worrying about the news of a slump in house prices, but all is not doom and gloom.

The value of the average home – the largest investment most of us make in our lives – is falling at the fastest rate since 2009, according to Nationwide. On top of that, we have mortgage rates that are close to a two-decade high. The Bank of England stands poised to hike the base rate for a 14th consecutive time on Thursday and it probably won’t be the last.

However, now’s not the time to give up on bricks and mortar. Higher borrowing costs have knocked sentiment and forced buyers to recalculate their budgets, but the property market hasn’t slammed on the brakes.