Benson Hersch

60% of bridging lenders expect growth in UK property prices




Almost 60% of bridging lenders expect there to be a "slight growth" in UK property prices over the next six months, according to new research.

The latest survey from the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL) suggests that bridging lenders are now more confident that the economy and property prices will remain robust with less than 29% expecting a slight growth in its January survey.

Other highlights from the survey included:

  • 18% revealed that they were not confident about the long-term prospects for the UK economy, compared with 29% in the January survey
  • 68% said they didn’t expect to see a ‘Brexit bounce’ in house prices
  • just under 60% expected the turnover of their business to increase in the next six months (January 2019: 75%)
  • less than 23% predicted turnover growth in the sector over the next six months (January 2019: just under a third)
  • over 40% of respondents said their biggest current challenge was competition from other lenders
     

“Most expect the outlook for the sector to remain flat,” said Benson Hersch, CEO at ASTL (pictured above).

“Increased turnover is, therefore, only likely to come from taking business from other firms, so the marketplace will remain tough.”

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