Zoopla: Market crash predictions are overstated

Talk of a housing market crash is overstated, Zoopla’s chief executive Charlie Bryant has claimed.

Speaking in an exclusive video interview with Estate Agent Today, Bryant said the market has been overheated since the pandemic and predicted that demand will return once prices normalise next year.

He said: “We are coming off the back of a hot market.

“The post pandemic period saw the highest level of property transactions since the 2008 financial crisis.

“When you don’t have that heat in the market, we will see a price squeeze and a softening of the price momentum.

“Mortgage rates have been very volatile since the mini-Budget, those will settle somewhere between 4% and 5%, which is affordable when you think banks are currently stress testing borrowers to 6% or 6.5%.

“There are lots of people calling doom and gloom in the market, my personal view is that this is overstated.”
 

Bryant said that while demand has dropped, some of this is seasonal and some is due to a lack of certainty in the mortgage market.

He added: “Those buyers will come back and we will see asking prices come down and sellers becoming realistic.”

Looking to 2023, he said Zoopla plans to be “more than just another digital classified site.”

He promised a platform to help agents run their businesses efficiently and to help reduce costs, win instructions and sell homes.

Watch the video interview below: