Rightmove has released its latest house price index, showing that house prices in the UK have risen to a record high and property is selling faster than ever before.
The average price of a house going on the market is now £327,797, having risen by 21% over the last month. This is £4,000 over the record set in October of 2020.
Demand for property has rocketed with the number of sales now 55% higher than it was during this period in 2019. This surge in demand has lowered the average days to sell a property to the lowest level Rightmove have ever recorded. Semi-detached houses with two or three bedrooms are most in demand, with 30% being marked as sold within seven days of going on the market.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, said: “This is only the second time over the past five years that prices have increased by over 2% in a month, so it’s a big jump, especially bearing in mind that the lockdown restrictions are still limiting the population’s movements and activities. The property market has remained fully open, and is fully active to such an extent that frenzied buyer activity has helped to push the average price of property coming to market to an all-time high.
“The stars have aligned for this spring price surge, with buyers’ new space requirements being part of the constellation alongside cheap mortgages, stamp duty holiday extensions in England and Wales, government support for 95% mortgages and a shortage of suitable property to buy. There’s also growing optimism due to the vaccination roll-out, which is helping drive the momentum for a fresh start in fresh surroundings.
“It does mean that this spring’s buyers are facing the highest ever property prices, though with properties selling faster in the first two weeks of April than ever previously recorded by Rightmove at an average of just 45 days to be marked by the agent as sold, it seems that those buyers are not deterred. Almost one in four (23%) properties that had a sale agreed in March had been on the market for less than a week, which is also the highest rate that we’ve ever recorded. If you’re looking to buy in the current frenetic market then you need to be on your toes and ready to move more quickly than ever before.”
Tomer Aboody, director of MT Finance, added: “A combination of lowest-ever interest rates, high loan-to-value mortgages, stamp duty relief and government stimulus, along with a year of on-and-off lockdown, has pushed demand for property to record levels. If now isn’t the time to buy, then when is? Will we have such an appealing time to buy again, who knows? But with so many positive reasons to buy and people simply needing more space, this trend is set to continue in the short term at least.
“Interestingly, London price changes vary depending on the distance to Central London, with the closest boroughs experiencing minimal-to-no growth over the past year, with some even seeing prices reduce. This can be put down to the high property values already seen in these boroughs and the lack of people being able to buy, whereas further out is still affordable and demand therefore higher.
“You will get very little for less than £500,000 in the most central London boroughs, so the stamp duty holiday is purely a bonus rather than a reason to buy. The Treasury should consider the introduction of stamp duty relief for downsizers as one way of encouraging the release of some much-needed stock onto the market.”
Original article featured here…
The latest figures released by Halifax showed the average house price in the UK had risen to a record high.