Max Turner from the new homes team at Savills discusses the market outlook for Suffolk in 2024.
The start of the new year appears to have brought some respite for the housing market. Inflation heading back towards the Bank of England target of 2.0% and falling mortgage rates have triggered an increase in activity from potential buyers.
Although this will take time to translate into completed sales – and demand is still below pre-Covid levels – the early signs are positive.
In particular, the prospect of a more widespread recovery in market conditions will come as welcome news to a housebuilding industry that has been at the sharp end of the downturn.
Coinciding with the end of Help to Buy, a significant increase in build costs and a substantial shift in planning policy, the last year has been a bruising experience for some.
Savills’ own research is still forecasting that house prices will fall this year, but at a lower rate than we’ve been seeing. The trends experienced in 2023 are also expected to continue for the short to medium term, with debt dependence very much dictating market performance and cash buyers continuing to play a significant role.
Encouragingly, whenever a market is in the late stages of a downturn or the early stages of a recovery it is the properties deemed ‘best in class’ that perform most strongly – and this should be good news for the new homes market.
Certainly, if the number of buyers who have registered with us since the start of the year is anything to go by then it suggests a degree of confidence is beginning to return.
We also have several new instructions for 2024.
We recently launched Tayfen Court, a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments in Bury St Edmunds with prices starting from £225,000. Built by Weston Homes, each apartment has a balcony or terrace, integrated kitchen appliances and superfast broadband, while residents can also enjoy a landscaped communal garden.
We are also selling an exclusive development of four beautifully crafted four-bedroom homes in Norwich Road, Little Stonham, near Stowmarket, on behalf of EKK Developments Limited. The energy-efficient family homes have been built to a high specification, each with a guide price of £680,000.
We will also soon be launching a collection of two-, three- and four-bedroom properties at Jacks Green in Creeting St Mary for Ruby Homes. A number of plots have already been sold off plan and we are expecting strong interest.
There is, then, every reason to be positive. New-build homes continue to tick many of the boxes that buyers are looking for and demand in popular, well-connected locations is strong. The sector is well set for the year ahead and I think we can look forward to 2024 with some optimism.
For advice on the new homes market in Suffolk contact Max Turner on 07807 999746 or MTurner@savills.com
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