‘Space race’ fuels busiest UK housing market since 2007 | Housing market
This year’s real estate market is poised to become the busiest in 14 years, with one in 16 private homes set to change hands by the end of December, new data shows.
The real estate website Zoopla also said that the annual rate of growth of house prices in the UK was 6.9% – up from 3.5% in the same month last year – and that the average cost of a house had increased by £ 15,500 in the past 12 months.
Zoopla said he projects 2021 to be the busiest year in the UK for the property market since 2007 in terms of property transactions, as the pandemic has prompted many households to re-evaluate their priorities and the holiday of rights to government stamp encouraged sales.
The website’s UK data for October comes days after official figures showed home sales fell by more than half in the weeks immediately following the end of the stamp duty holidays in England and Ireland North.
HM Revenue and Customs reported last week that transactions across the UK fell 52% in the space of a month to 76,900 in October after thousands of buyers rushed to complete their transactions. purchases the previous month and beat the government stamp duty of late September. holiday deadline.
The record increase in activity at the start of the year was also due to government guarantees for mortgages and a pandemic “space race” that has prompted many buyers to prioritize loans. properties with larger gardens and more space to work from home.
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Zoopla said: “The real estate market in 2021 will be defined by the revaluation of the house caused by the pandemic, with many households being forced to relocate.”
He said that while the 6.9% annual price growth recorded in October marked a slight slowdown from the above 7% growth recorded in August and September of this year, the average growth rate over the past three month was higher than at any time. since 2014, highlighting the strength of the market.
The most recent house price surveys from the UK’s largest mortgage lenders describe a property market that continues to defy the expectations of many experts. Halifax said earlier this month that UK house prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in October, adding 0.9% to the average cost of a home. Rival lender Nationwide said property values rose 0.7% in October.
However, rising interest rates – the first expected next month – and rising inflation could put a damper on the market.