At the start of the pandemic no one could predict how house prices would go. In March 2020 the property market was shut down to anyone who wasn’t already in the process of moving home. Over the next three months some people believed house prices would crash, others thought they would soar.
When the market re-opened in June 2020, there was a surge of activity with people pushing ahead with plans that had been put on hold. What’s more, over the coming 18 months there was a race for space as people wanted an additional room to work from home and outside space to enable them to socialise with friends and family. There was a move away from urban areas to rural homes which offered more space for your money and the stamp duty (LBTT) holiday gave the market an additional boost.
As we look towards the Autumn of 2022, no one could have expected the level of growth that the property market has seen. Prices are still high and despite the rising cost of living, increased interest rates, record high levels of inflation and rising fuel and energy bills, the lack of supply is still driving high prices.
According to recent figures*, since before the pandemic begun in February 2020, the average price of a UK property has risen by £48 per day – the equivalent of £38,000. In one area this has reached £106 a day.
The property portal analysed home valuations across the UK and has estimated that £1.3 trillion has been added to the value of UK property since the start of the pandemic – taking the value to £10.1 trillion.
The ongoing flexible working lifestyle that we are all adapting to has further pushed up prices as there is still a high level of appetite for homes with space to work from home.
As we look ahead, it is expected that the increase in the value of homes will slow down over the next year. There will be differences between the regions – but the overriding view is that the housing market and house prices is still underpinned by high demand and a lack of supply.
*Zoopla House Price Index