The UK Property Market is Bouncing Back

UK Housing Market

The introduction of the stamp duty holiday for the UK property market, announced last week by Rishi Sunak, has resulted in an upsurge of activity in the market. Figures have revealed that asking priced reached record highs in July.

This has stunned most property experts. Although there was predicted to be a nominal bounce back in the market as a result of the announcement, not many would have predicted the resurgence we are currently seeing.

The findings, this being the latest house price index from Rightmove highlights how asking prices coming to the market over the last month has hit record highs since the index began. With an average increase of 2.4 percent on the previous highs we saw pre-lockdown, and a 3.7 percent annual rise, this is the highest house price increase we have seen since December 2016.

Buyer demand increasing

Before lockdown, we saw a lot of confidence in the property market. What many labelled the ‘Boris bounce’, the clarity over the UK’s relationship with the EU and Boris’ confident victory in the 2019 general election meant that buyers were willing to part with their money to secure property.

As the UK went into lockdown, the market was ‘frozen’, with many deals falling through and confidence seemingly evaporating. However, the recent findings suggest that buyer confidence was still there but was also on hold.

Confidence is now rocketing. When compared to the same period last year, we are seeing a 75 percent increase in property enquiries. The knock-on effect of course is sales being agreed and asking prices justifiably increasing.

Sales are going through

Whilst asking prices increasing is a positive sign, what is more important is sales going through. The findings support this however, with nearly half (44 percent) of newly listed properties going under offer in the first month after the market reopened, a 10 percent increase over the same period last year.

Most estate agents are echoing the findings, stating the market has not been this active and competitive in many years. A combination of pent-up energy through lockdown and changes introduced by the Government, including low interest rates for good mortgage deals and the stamp duty holiday has had an immediate effect in boosting activity in the market.

Whilst the changes remain in effect until March next year, we can expect to see a continued gradual rise in house prices, with activity remaining present in the market. With completions taking on average 3 months, we can expect to see a spike in November/December to take advantage of the stamp duty savings.

Growth across the UK property market

We are seeing house price growth across the UK, not just hotspots such as London or the Northern cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, areas that we have seen high levels of growth in recent years. Agents from across the country have stated they are seeing high demand and sales go through in recent weeks that is likely to be reflected in other house price indexes soon.

This is great news for sellers. Whilst growth is fluctuated across the UK, now is a great time to sell in the market.

Now is a good time to sell

Recently, we mentioned that it would be worth holding until house prices recovered. However, with the recent surge in asking prices, now could be a great time to put your property on the market. With confidence in the market and asking prices on the rise, from now to the end of the year may represent an opportunity to sell your property for a good price.

Buyers should continue their search. With the Government incentives available for a limited time and house prices still at a good level, you should be taking advantage. You may find in the meantime greater difficulty in obtaining a mortgage with a low deposit, some of the major providers have withdrawn their low deposit offering recently and is certainly worth investigating.