According to the latest Zoopla December House Price Index, the surge in demand has pushed up house prices to an all-time high! With the average price of a home hitting £242,000 in December, up from £216,500 at the start of 2020, the data shows.
According to the property portal, prices for houses (terraced, semi-detached and detached) now average £289,500, making demand for family houses outside London four times higher than the five-year average. With flats on a sharp upward trajectory for the first time in several years, averaging £175,700 – up 8.8% and 2.2% respectively year-on-year.
Furthermore, supply of stock has seen a marginal improvement. Property stock was down 47% on five-year average, however, by the end of 2021 it had increased to 44% in January 2022.
Strong buyer demand in the market pushed annual price growth to 7.4% in December, down from 7.7% in September, but still marking one of the highest rates of price growth since 2014. But despite the recent increase, house price growth is predicted to slow as the housing market returns to more normal market conditions in 2022.
Grainne Gilmore, head of research, Zoopla, commented:
Just like much of 2021, the number of homes available for sale is lower than typical levels, but there are signs that the imbalance between demand and supply is starting to ease. As more potential sellers are able to find a home to move to, this will spur more supply in the weeks and months to come.”
Here at Rook Matthews Sayer, we are still seeing very high demand as the property boom continues. We urgently need more properties in all areas to keep up with buyer demand!
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(Article and graphic source – Property Industry Eye, 27/01/22, https://propertyindustryeye.com/house-prices-soar-to-another-record-high-as-demand-surges/)