Blog
The holiday is over. Time to get moving!
Tuesday, June 29, 2021
As the stamp duty holiday ends on June 30th, buyer demand for properties remains higher than normal, with demand still outstripping supply. Homebuyers’ new needs for increased space, ability to work from home and have access to outdoor space are all prompting moves, with or without the stamp duty holiday. With demand the driving factor, annual house price growth is at 4.7%, up from 2.2% a year ago and the UK average house price is now £229,300.
Demand for property is being boosted by the lower stamp duty savings still available to buyers of homes worth up to £250,000 until the end of September. In addition, first-time buyers are active, with a wider choice of mortgages available to them. The number of homes for sale is at a relatively low level after the stamp duty holiday buying frenzy and now may be a good time to consider selling.
Time to sell, (ie how quickly homes are sold subject to contract after being listed), dropped to 22 days in May, almost 50% lower than in May 2019. This, even when there was no longer prospect of the higher stamp duty savings, demonstrates that buyer activity remains high and with different motivation.
Demand may continue to ease as the economy re-opens, allowing people more freedom and focus on other activities such as travel, but with total stock of homes for sale well below normal levels, demand will continue to underpin pricing and is likely to make this one of the busiest for the housing market since 2008. For more information and a FREE market appraisal of your property please contact your local Frost office.
