Housing Market continues cool down

Commentators are calling the end of the property boom, driven by some well documented (interlocking) themes: economic uncertainty, stagnating sales and high prices. Prices increases of 4.8 per cent in 2017 represent the slowest increase in 5 years (dragged down by London and the south east in particular). On the flipside – and slightly unexpectedly - the number of first-time buyers is at its highest since 2016. Property had become so inflated that the average first-time buyer is now 30 years old and has a salary of £41,000 a year, so the shift is welcome news in some regards.