Rightmove has released its latest House Price Index which makes for extremely interesting reading! The portal has reported its busiest ever start to the year, following an extremely buoyant 2021.
The housing market last year was defined by a huge number of UK homeowners and first-time buyers reassessing their priorities. This sustained desire to purchase a home coupled with a lack of supply – especially when it came to larger family homes – resulted in high competition and rising house prices.
The busy market we experienced last year has continued into the start of 2022 with the average price of a property coming to market rising by 0.3% in January which is the equivalent rise of £852. Although asking prices generally rise during this month every year, there was drop in prices last January as people rushed to meet the stamp duty deadline. National asking prices are now 7.6% higher than the same time last year – an annual rate that hasn’t been seen since 2016.
The January rise in prices is a result of homes at the top of the property ladder and those suitable for first-time buyers.
The stats show that:
• The number of buyers enquiring about homes in January 2022 is 15% higher than in January 2021
• The number of homes available per estate agent branch has dropped to a record low
• Competition between buyers is double what it was in 2021
• First-time buyer asking prices have hit a new record after a monthly jump of 1.4%
• Signs are showing that there will be more property choice over the coming months
• The number of home valuation requests in the first working week of this year was 44% higher than in 2021 and 48% higher than in 2020