Lately I’ve grow to be a property sector Nostradamus, predicting with uncanny accuracy the massive occasions and tendencies in our business 12 months therefore.
Home costs, acquisition exercise, firings… you title it and I’ve foreseen it.
So, my crystal balls are once more polished and bursting with prognostications of what 2026 holds for us.
Listed below are my 10 prophecies for subsequent yr:
1/ Let’s begin with the portals and take every one in flip:
Rightmove will see additional falls in its share worth because the Metropolis reacts to detrimental investor sentiment over its obvious lack of expertise as to how AI search behaviour will develop in observe. Anticipate an extra £500m to return off its worth.
Zoopla shall be offered however for a lot, a lot lower than its £2bn buy worth as Cash, uSwitch, Hometrack, Confused and its software program entities are break up and offered off individually.
OnTheMarket to proceed to not make the information – for all of the incorrect causes. CoStar’s boredom with the ‘additionally ran’ portal ends in no re-brand and no big-bang advertising and marketing nonetheless.
2/ Home costs – up 3% at yr finish as a UK common as the federal government’s makes an attempt to kill the economic system miss the housing market as wages develop, mortgage charges drop and, by some means, constructive sentiment stays.
3/ The housing market sees a unique type of north vs south divide. Not geographical as is conventional however on worth… the common market performs nicely however Prime and Tremendous Prime wrestle with lack of demand because the ‘rich’ exit the nation and with the Chancellor squeezing the pips on entrepreneurs and company Britain nonetheless additional.
4/ A brand new Housing Minister shall be put in, clearly (as a result of we all the time have a couple of per yr).
5/ And a brand new Prime Minister too.
6/ The mass consolidation of property companies and letting company companies to achieve traction as I first predicted in January 2024 with Foxtons, Dexters, LRG, Lomond and new youngsters on the block Dwelly combating like ferrets in a sack over the few remaining 20+ department entities to purchase. Therefore smaller 10+ corporations will grow to be targets.
Observe: There are solely 100 or so unbiased companies of this measurement left to devour.
7/ The variety of self-employed property agent people will double from the c.1500 at the moment to round 3000 because the tipping level nears which takes this fashionable and rising sub-sector in the direction of an final 20% share of all brokers (not companies) inside the subsequent 5 years.
8/ The Financial institution of England base fee will stabilise at 3.5% because the fiscal economic system weakens however inflation is considerably tamed.
9/ 100,000 residential landlords exit the PRS, fed up with assault after assault on their good intentions.
10/ England don’t win the soccer World Cup, crashing out within the early phases (once more) to deluded, beer-soaked chants of ‘It’s Coming Residence’. It actually isn’t.
Oh, and as for Scotland… it’s not going there both.
OK, my octopus is again in its cabinet for one more yr however mark my phrases these are all details simply ready to occur. Disagree or agree? I’m certain you’ll remark.
Have an important Christmas, a superb New 12 months and a predictable 2026. It’ll be advantageous.
Russell Quirk is our resident pier-end soothsayer and in addition co-founder of property PR specialists ProperPR.
