According to the latest House Price Index from Zoopla, demand for houses has pushed the annual property price growth up to 4.3%. The trend is being seen across the whole of the UK with all regions reporting high demand for houses.
There has been a marked increase in the demand for homes with outside space along with parking and an extra room in which to work from home as the pandemic triggered a once-in-a-lifetime re-assessment of what buyers want from their homes. The result is higher demand for gardens, detached homes and more rural locations. This increased demand has put upward pressure on house prices as demand is higher than the current supply of housing.
More space has been a key factor in buyer behaviour with a 26% rise in the value of property that sold in 2020 hitting £300 billion compared to £238 billion in 2019.
At Nicol Estate Agents we don’t see the changing any time soon and if anything we are experiencing our busiest December and January for many years and the buoyant market looks set to continue.
As we enter into our third lockdown with rules tightened on everything from schooling, shopping and socialising with millions instructed to stay at home as much as possible, the housing market is fully open. New guidelines have outlined moving home as an essential purpose as long as it is carried out safely.
The guidance states that house moves, viewings, maintenance, purchase, sale, letting, or rental of residential property that a person owns or is responsible for, can proceed.
People can travel between council areas in order to move house, with mainland Scotland currently in full lockdown.
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