UK Property prices hit an all-time high in the first two weeks of September as buyer demand far outstripped the supply of houses coming to the market.
According to the latest house prices index from Rightmove released this week, house prices increased 0.3% this month. to reach a new record high of £338,462. The latest figure makes house prices 5.8% higher than a year earlier and reversed a 0.3% decline in August.
The September house price data hit an all-time high with house prices, on average, £15 pounds higher than the previous record set in July.
Just last month, DailyInvestNews reported UK home sales plummeting as the Stamp Duty holiday began being eased. However, this week’s figures are a strong indicator that the UK housing market has kept some of its upward momenta even after the easing of temporary tax breaks on property purchases.
Managing director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester. said of the figures:
“It’s to be expected that the astronomic rates of house price growth seen since the introduction of the stamp duty holiday will now start to subside as we approach the final deadline,”
“But don’t be fooled into thinking the market will now deflate like a cheap birthday balloon. Buyer demand is extremely high and property prices will remain robust, largely driven by second and third rung buyers upgrading to larger, higher-value homes.”
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data. said:
“Competition among potential buyers to secure their next home is now more than double what it was this time in 2019,”
“To be in pole-position in the race for the best property you need to have greater buying power than the rest of the field,”
“That traditionally would mean deeper pockets to outbid other buyers, but in the most competitive market ever, today’s ‘power buyers’ also need to have already found a buyer for their own property, or to have no need to sell at all.”
“Proof that you are mortgage-ready or can splash the cash without needing a mortgage will also help you to get the pick of the housing crop.”
Meanwhile, there are signs of more properties coming to market soon. In the first two weeks of September, the number of new listings was rose 14% compared with the last two weeks of August.
