Overseas buyers will help avert a property market crash - claim 

A property tax consultant has hit back at suggestions of a housing market crash, suggesting that overseas investors will help sustain growth.

David Hannah, group chairman at Cornerstone Tax, has predicted that price growth will slow but said he is confident that it won’t turn negative.

It comes as a survey of 2,000 people by the firm found 55% were not deterred from purchasing property in 2023 - compared with 45% who said they would halt proceedings. 

Hannah said the 55% who will follow through with purchases in 2023 will most likely be buyers who are less dependable on interest rates.

Foreign investors will also seek to take advantage of the fall in the price of sterling, essentially, making the UK housing market 10% cheaper, he said.

He added that the 45% that will hold off on purchasing will be most likely first-time buyers, who now cannot afford the inflated mortgage payments.

Hannah said: “In early 2023 we will see slow demand. Only those people that are forced to sell will see a small fall in prices, however, over the whole of 2023, I expect to see low to mid to single-digit growth over the UK property market- between 5-8%. 

“Despite the negative headlines we have been seeing, there is an underlying pressure on the market and that is leading to upward pressure on prices.

“We now have a growing number of people that want to move to the UK. 

“The first is the overseas investor who regards UK property as a safe haven for their money because the country they principally live in is not economically or politically safe.“The second are those who want to become second homeowners. The third and final group is those who want to leave their country of birth and are in need of a home.”

He suggests all of these factors over the course of the next 12 months will support the market, adding:  “There will be no crash and no 10-20% fall in property prices that we saw in the noughties. The UK property market has tended to be more stable than any other global market in property.”