Rightmove House Price Index – July mini-boom

Rightmove House Price Index – July mini-boom

8:33 AM, 17th August 2020, About 4 years ago 1

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Rightmove have released their House Price Index with a July mini-boom pushing prices to a record high.

The average asking price for property coming to market has hit £320,625 which is £7,640 and 2.44% higher than pre-lockdown in March, and a 3.7% annual increase is the biggest since December 2016.

The number of monthly sales agreed on Rightmove has increased 15% in England on last year, and in the five days after the Stamp Duty holiday announcement it jumped to 35% up on the same days last year.

Year-on-year buyer enquiries are up 75% and 44% of new listings in the first month after the English market opened on 13th May have already been marked as sale agreed, compared to 34% last year.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said:

“The unexpected mini-boom continues to gather momentum as more nations reopen. Overall buyer enquiries are up by an incredible 75% year-on-year in Britain and we expect activity will increase even further as Scotland has not yet been open for a full month, and Wales still has some housing market restrictions in place.

“The busy until interrupted spring market has now picked up where it left off and has been accelerated by both time-limited stamp duty holidays and by homeowners reappraising their homes and lifestyles because of the lockdown. The strength of buyer demand has contributed to record prices, with the 3.7% annual rate of increase being the highest for over three and a half years. These figures are the earliest indicator of house price trends. They show on average prices gently rising not falling, and this will be reflected in the coming months in other house price reports.

“There is a window of opportunity for sellers to come to market and to find a buyer who is tempted by the stamp duty savings. Although March next year may sound like a long time away, in reality, sellers need to find a buyer before Christmas, to allow a further three months for completion of the legal process to beat the deadline. While property is selling much faster than a year ago, it’s important not to over-price and miss this window. It’s still a price-sensitive market with buyers having limits on what they are able to borrow, and the uncertain economic outlook making them more cautious.”


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Comments

Neil Patterson

10:08 AM, 17th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Craig McKinlay, New Business Director, Kensington Mortgages, commented:

“Between a stamp duty break and a Help to Buy extension – these measures have created a mini housing boom, seen in the highest number of monthly sales in more than a decade and the highest number of properties coming to market since 2008. Although there's speculation that a ‘bust’ will follow once these measures are eased, we need to remember that the foundations of the market remain strong despite the wider economic environment and that some help is better than no help at all.”

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