Key Headlines:
• House price growth hits ten year high in some regions
• Buyer demand remains elevated
• Rental growth rises again
Property is an hot talking point currently & rightly so with the data & demand we have seen. Lockdown has propelled buyers demand & it’s an extremely hot, fast paced market.
The average rate of house price growth has risen to a 10-year high in Wales, Yorkshire & the Humber and the North East, and is very close to a decade-high in the North West and Midlands too – as shown in the chart below.
Zoopla have predicted that price growth may start to ease in the coming months, but will
remain in positive territory, with the more affordable markets
continuing to lead in terms of price uplifts.
The graph above shows that while buyer demand has eased from the peak of April this year, it is still running well ahead of more ‘normal’ market conditions back in 2019, signalling no ‘cliff-edge’ in activity due to the ending of the initial stamp duty holiday on June 30th. The ‘search for space’ among buyers continues, and tens of thousands will also still benefit from the tapered SDLT holiday to September 30th.
The Zoopla House Price Index below shows a break down of country, region and city growth using sold prices, mortgage valuations and data for agreed sales.
It’s not just purchasing property that is showing positive growth, the rental market is also seeing growth. Excluding London from the figures, the average annual rental growth stands at +3.6%, this is the highest rate of
growth in five years.
Rental demand remains higher than the supply of rental property and this is what’s continuing to push up rental growth across the UK outside of London. That being said, London is starting to recover with rents rising, although still in the negatives.
Rental demand is also rising in city centres as offices start to open up and cultural and lifestyle amenities are close to operating as usual, after 15 months of restrictions due to the pandemic.
The figures in this report refer up to May 2021 and have been collected by Zoopla. The full report can be found here.
