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2021 Housing Market Performance 2021 has been another eventful and action packed year for the housing market! Property prices continued to increase - year end is expected to hit 10%+! The Bank of England held interest rates at an unprecedented low level of 0.1% until 16 December, when they were increased to 0.25%. Average house prices increased by 10.2% over the year by October 2021, down from 12.3% in September 2021, according to the Office of National Statistics. This pe

Here we share the latest housing news based on data shared by Rightmove, Zoopla and the Halifax. We also update you on the stamp duty holiday which is due to end on 31 March 2021. The housing market has had a busy start to 2021 although the impact of the stamp duty holiday coming to an end and the wider economic impact are expected to slow down house prices from Q2. In view of the potential stalling affect that will happen when the the stamp duty holiday ends (there were pr

What a year 2020 has been. Despite the majority of the year under the pandemic, the housing market performed remarkably. In this blog, we review the housing performance in December, reflect on the remainder of the 2020 and look forward across 2021. Who could have predicted the performance of the housing sector last year? No one, at least accurately. 2020 saw unprecedented activity in the housing market, with the average house prices ending the year up as follows - 3.9% acc

Rightmove's latest monthly House Price Index reveals that the average price of property coming to the market has dipped by 0.5% (-£1,505) compared to October, despite continuing strong buyer demand. Their revised prediction of a 7% annual increase in house prices in 2020 appears to be on track, with the annual rate of growth now at 6.3% with a month remaining. Source: Rightmove Compared to October 2019, Rightmove are reporting: the strongest activity is in the price bands a

Here's our round up of the housing sector, based on insight from Rightmove, Nationwide and Halifax. In summary, the housing market has continued to be buoyant over September and October with prices being reported at an all time high driven by the pent up demand arising from the first lockdown, low borrowing interest rates, the volume of buyers exceeding sellers and the stamp duty holiday. Clearly, there are many uncertainties ahead and the outlook is that there are some sign

Rightmove have reported that 3-4 bedroom, excluding 4 bed detached homes, otherwise known as "Second Stepper" homes are selling at record prices, with the average in August at £291, 618. Why are Second Stepper Homes So Popular? Buyers are looking for more space not only to live in but also to accommodate their home working needs, so stepper homes normally allow for both these demands to be met. The number of sales agreed in August, compared with the same period last year, mor

If you are selling are you likely to accept a lower offer? If you are a buyer are you likely to submit a lower offer? In short, buyers hoping for money off will need their best negotiating skills and sellers may end up forgoing a sale by refusing to accept an offer below their asking price.  Learn more about seller and buyer behaviour so you can use this insight to your advantage. Seller and Buyer Behaviour A recent survey by Strike, an on-line estate agent, shows that: sinc

The first £500,000 of any property for sale is exempt from stamp duty up until March 31, 2021, if it is bought as a main home. With property transactions taking four months to complete, you “... really have to find a buyer before Christmas to complete by March” says Miles Shipside, Director and Housing Market Analyst at Rightmove. So How Do You Achieve And Complete a Sale by 31 March 2021 Deadline? Here's the key factors that will influence your success. Pricing is Key Altho

Here's a summary of what's been happening in the housing sector, together with an outlook for the remainder of 2020 and beyond. In short, the market continues to be buoyant as buyers want to address their primary need of more space. We suspect this theme will continue for the foreseeable future as homeworking becomes the new norm for many of us. The buoyancy has resulted in a shortfall of housing stock which in turn has resulted in the continued growth in prices. It’s inev

Redrow Homes, latest survey indicates that a quarter of those they surveyed are reconsidering what they want in their future home. Of note are: - 53% of those who have children under 10, or who are currently expecting a child, are most likely to have change their priorities, compared to an average of 24%. - 39% of those who've had to work from home (either part-time or full time), or are in furlough have changed their priorities. Priorities Post-lockdown Unsurprisingly as thi

Rightmove's August Monthly Housing Index confirmed that August was a record in terms of sales, valued at £37 billion! Also of note are the following: the average house price was £319, 497 Rightmove experienced the highest number of sales since they started tracking data in 2010, up by 20% compared to the previous high, and with a record total sales value of over £37 billion! there was the highest number of properties for sale since March 2008 and 44% more than the same period

Three and four bedroom homes with a south facing garden sell quicker and on average at a higher price according to Righmove's latest study. This adds £22,695 on average to these homes, equivalent to an additional 7% to the sale price. The national average asking price of these types of homes is £369,365, compared to £346,670 without. As previously reported, larger gardens or access to outdoor space has become a number one priority for households. Learn more here. Miles Shi

Here's a roundup of how the housing market is performing during the month of July from Twenty EA, Zoopla, Savills, Nationwide and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) (based on June data). This builds on what we already shared from Rightmove last week - more on that here. In summary, these industry insights continue the theme reported by Rightmove - we're in a mini boom. Housing activity has continued to improve in July with the average house price increasing

Rightmove have published their July House Price Index. This confirms the UK is experiencing a "mini boom". Not only is there an increase in activity, average asking prices are 2.4% higher than in March and the annual increase of 3.7% is the highest since December 2016. This makes the average house price now £320,265. Other key metrics are: Since the beginning of July, buyer enquiries are up 75% year on year Since the housing market opened up again on 13 May 2020, 44% of th

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT! With your rental portfolio competing with many others, it is crucial that it stands out for all the right reasons. Otherwise you'll fail to attract the right tenants or it will sit on the market for longer than you'd like, hitting your bottom line. As we all know, moving can be an extremely stressful time so why not reduce the pressure for your tenant and provide them with a fully furnished home. So what are the elements you should consider - here's

Since the government revealed plans to relax blanket restrictions on non-essential overseas travel, Rightmove have reported that they've seen more on-line users flocking to their Overseas portal. Their data analysts saw searches hit an all-time high on Sunday 28th June as the government confirmed that travel to and from certain overseas destinations will be allowed without the need to quarantine. Data shows that searches were 73% up compared with 28 June 2019. Searches were

Here we share some interesting data on what your buyer or renter is looking for having spent the last few months in lockdown. Latest Rightmove Survey Buyer and renter priorities have changed over the lockdown period as evidenced in Righmove's most recent survey. Of the 4,000 households they surveyed: There was commonality across buyers and renters alike, the number one priority remains access to a bigger garden, followed by wanting a bigger home. The differences between buye

Well, May has certainly been a very busy month on the housing front since the lockdown was lifted on 13 May 2020. Let's take a look through what the key headline makers had to say. Nationwide In May's edition of #NationwideHousingIndex, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: “UK house prices fell by 1.7% over the month in May, after taking account of seasonal effects – this is the largest monthly fall since February 2009. As a result, the annual rate of house pr