By Laura McGuire
LSL Property Services, one of the largest providers of mortgage and valuation services, appears to be on the up, following an improvement in the UK’s housing and mortgage market.
In January and February of this year, group underlying operating profit has so far managed to climb ahead of the board’s previous expectations and is around £7.5m ahead of the same period in 2023 and around £2.5m above 2022.
The company, which owns Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agencies, was forced to warn on its profits last year after “significant changes in the mortgage market” such as high-interest rates and a squeeze on buyer affordability impacted its bottom line.
Today, the firm said mortgage applications over the first two months of the year are “significantly ahead” of expectations with daily applications in February 23 per cent higher than last year and five per cent above 2022.
Towards the end of last year, home loan prices edged down as UK lenders offered got competitive in a market shrunk by economic turmoil.
Lenders have since increased their prices slightly as an imminent rate cut from the Bank of England has faded, however, this has not appeared to deter a positive sentiment in the market.
A report by property portal Zoopla last month showed a 21 per cent increase in the number of homes for sale compared to a year ago.
The board of LSL said: “Whilst commentators have pointed to improving conditions in the mortgage and housing markets, it remains difficult to predict the future path of these with confidence. However, early trading reaffirms the Board’s confidence that profits in 2024 will be materially ahead of 2023.
“The earlier than expected recovery means that even at this stage of the year, the board’s expectations for the full year have increased.”
