A strengthening property market resulted in a huge increase in home valuations in June, with activity rising 23% annually, recent data reveals.
The research from Connells Survey & Valuation found that June’s total of property valuations was also up 42% on a monthly basis. Valuations for established owner-occupiers moving house were particularly high, up 34% in June compared with June 2014 and 51% compared to May 2015.
Home movers in June surpassed those looking for a property in the buy-to-let sector, with demand growing in the residential market.
According to the data, valuations for first time buyers in June were up 16% annually and 42% compared to May’s figures.
The amount of valuations in the buy-to-let market increased by 24% compared with 12 months previously and 22% on May 2015.
The number of valuations for those remortgaging rose by 17% in June compared to June 2014 and 44% on the previous month.
Connells Survey & Valuation’s Corporate Services Director, John Bagshaw, explains: “First time buyers haven’t benefitted from higher house prices in the same way as those already on the property ladder.
“An era-defining shortage of suitable first time homes, combined with still rapid rises in average prices, are keeping many would-be homeowners renting for the time being. Yet despite this, numbers of valuations for new buyers have shown double digit growth.”
However, he says that annual growth in the remortgaging market is still behind most other sectors: “This could also be a sign that the numbers remortgaging to access a better mortgage rate may have reached a plateau.”1
1 http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/uk-residenital-property-valuations-2015070810722.html