This year’s property market is poised to become the busiest for 14 years, with one in 16 privately owned homes set to change hands by the end of December, according to new data.
Property website Zoopla also said that UK home prices were running at an annual rate of 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 over the past 12 months .
Zoopla said it was predicting that 2021 would be the UK’s busiest year for the property market since 2007 in terms of property transactions as the pandemic prompted many households to re-evaluate their priorities and the government The US stamp duty holiday encouraged sales.
Website’s UK data for October comes days after home sales show official figures fell more than half In the weeks immediately following the end of the stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland.
HM Revenue & Customs reported last week that transactions across the UK fell 52% in the space of a month to 76,900 in October, as thousands of homebuyers rushed to complete their purchases last month and the government’s late September Defeated stamp duty in holiday deadline.
The record increase in activity at the start of the year was also fueled by government guarantees for mortgages and a “race for space” driven by the pandemic that has led many homebuyers to prefer properties with larger gardens and more space to work from home. has given.
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Zupla said: “The property market of 2021 will be defined by the pandemic-led revaluation of the home, with many families forced to make a move.”
It said the annual price growth of 6.9 per cent recorded in October is slightly lower than the above 7% growth recorded in August and September this year, compared to the average rate of growth at any time in the past three months. was more. Since 2014, underscoring the strength of the market.
A recent House Price Survey by the UK’s largest mortgage lenders depicts a property market that seems to defy the expectations of many experts. Halifax said earlier this month that UK home prices Rose for the ongoing fourth month In October, the average cost of a home increased by 0.9%. Rival lender Nationwide said the property value grew 0.7% in October,
However, interest rates rise – the first is expected next month – and rising inflation could put the brakes on the market.