For all the talk of a cost of living crisis, house prices in the UK seem to be accelerating faster than ever due to continued high demand and a shortage of supply.
According to property portal Rightmove (RMV), average asking prices rose last month by the most in value terms since the firm started keeping records more than 20 years ago.
The yearly rate of increase rise in prices was also the fastest since September 2014.
NO SLOWDOWN
Even without the boost to demand which the market experienced last year from the stamp duty holiday, average asking prices are 9.5% higher than a year ago, the fastest rate of increase in more than seven years.
The average price of property coming to market in February was a record £348,804, more than £30,000 higher than last year.
The one-month jump of £7,785 between January and February is the biggest since Rightmove started collecting data over two decades ago.
In the two years since the pandemic, average prices have risen £40,000 compared with an increase of just £9,000 in the previous two years.
According to Rightmove, the biggest driver of the recent surge in prices has been ‘second-steppers’ who want to move on from their first home and are ready to pay up for more space.
The firm’s director of property data Tim Bannister commented: ‘Even two years on from the start of the pandemic, people are continuing to re-consider their priorities and where they want to live.’
RETURN TO WORK
One of the most interesting developments is the record number of buyers enquiring about properties in London as firms encourage workers back to the office.
Not only did the capital register the biggest jump in number of enquiries of any region, up 24%, it also saw prices hit a new record and the highest rate of price growth since 2016.
‘As the final legal restrictions look to be ending soon, and more businesses are encouraging a return to the office for at least part of the week, we now have a group of movers who are looking to return closer to major cities, or at least within comfortable commuting distance of their workplaces’, said Bannister.
