Doug Crawford, CEO of My Home Move, shares his predictions for the housing market in 2018

“In 2017, the dominant issue was the continuing lack of housing supply. With the political uncertainty surrounding the Brexit negotiations and the snap General Election, as well as rising house prices, an air of caution still settles over the market.

“House building, as recently reaffirmed by the Government, is one of the biggest challenges for the industry in 2018. Despite building levels now reaching their pre-2007 levels, the Government’s aim to build 300,000 new homes per year is still a long way off. However I believe that the industry will continue to find innovative solutions, such as modular construction, to speed up this process and produce the homes of the future.

“Elsewhere in the market, the abolition of stamp duty land tax on properties up to £300,000 for first-time buyers should help to get people onto the first step of the housing ladder. We also anticipate that the shared ownership market will grow in 2018, particularly as the government continues its commitment to the Help-to-Buy Shared Ownership scheme. However we expect prices to rise marginally by between 2-3%, which may hinder those further up the ladder. With a second interest rate rise expected in H1 2018, the remortgage market should remain active and grow slightly as consumers shop around for the best deals.”