House prices hit a record high of £233,947 at the start of this year, according to research by haart estate agent.
Housing Demand Exceeds Supply by 12 to 1
The firm has used its own data on average prices of properties sold subject to contract.
The new price record is 14.6% higher than at the same point last year.
haart reports that the average price of a first time buyer home sold subject to contract was £170,812 and the average London property price was £555,952 – a huge annual increase of 23.5%.
The agent estimates, based on its own figures, that there were 58,623 exchanges of contract in the UK over December, a decrease of 5.8% on December 2014. It also puts the ratio of new buyer demand to homes on the market at almost 12 to one.
CEO of haart, Paul Smith, comments on the data: “While December is generally a slow month for the property market, as people turn their focus to the festive season rather than buying or selling their home, there were a staggering 12 buyers chasing every property to come onto the market.
“The high level of competition sustained throughout 2015 has pushed house prices up by 14.6%, or £29,814 in monetary terms, over the year. This is more than the UK average salary, according to official Government data, throwing the price rise into sharp relief – certainly good news for those looking to release the equity in their home.”
He also offers his predictions for the year: “Off the back of this, I expect 2016 to be a particularly active year for the property market, especially for the first few months as buy-to-let investors clamour to complete purchases by April and the introduction of the 3% Stamp Duty surcharge.
“With interest rates likely to stay stable, generous mortgage packages will continue to be available, including those that require just a 5% deposit. This will be particularly helpful for first time buyers, and will also push up demand among homeowners and investors. As a result, I expect to see house prices increase by 9% throughout 2016.”1
It was recently reported that landlords are rushing to buy ahead of tax changes in the buy-to-let sector. How is this changing the market? Find out: /valuations-firm-confirms-that-landlords-are-rushing-to-buy/