According to Nationwide, 2022 started off with a bang for the UK housing market, recording the strongest January since 2005 as annual house price growth rose by 11.2%.
This has brought the average price of a home to £255,556 – the sixth monthly increase in a row. Growing 0.8% from 10.4% the previous month, this is also the highest monthly rise since June last year.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, mentioned: “Housing demand has remained robust. Mortgage approvals for house purchases have continued to run slightly above pre-pandemic levels despite the surge in activity in 2021 as a result of the stamp duty holiday, which encouraged buyers to bring forward their transactions to avoid additional tax.
“Indeed, the total number of property transactions in 2021 was the highest since 2007 and around 25% higher than in 2019, before the pandemic struck. At the same time, the stock of homes on estate agents’ books has remained extremely low, which is contributing to the continued robust pace of house price growth.”
Meanwhile Rightmove claim early-bird sellers benefitted from increased buyer competition last month as the number of buyers enquiring about homes was 15% higher than January 2021.
What do we expect for 2022?
The UK housing market has certainly had a good time so far this year. January is traditionally a strong month anyway, as many people add ‘moving’ to their list of New Year’s resolutions, but 2022 has been a phenomenal one.
As we quickly head towards spring, we are now starting to see early signs that more property choice is on its way, which is great news for our long list of registered buyers. Owners of country houses tend to have lovely gardens, and these only look their best in the warmer months. We have therefore been very busy valuing such properties since the beginning of the year across Rutland, Stamford and South Lincs, as homeowners start to chat with estate agents and solicitors, whilst preparing their homes for sale. This shall certainly help rebalance supply and demand, but there are still plenty of purchasers out there. They may be slightly more cautious about how much they spend due to rising energy prices and the bank rate, but we still expect it to be a very busy year indeed. As long as sellers are realistic about what their home is worth and ensure they are using an estate agent who is using the best marketing methods possible to reach the widest audience as possible, 2022 should be another bumper year.
Considering selling?
If you’re considering selling this spring, you can contact Jan or Ildi on 01780 750 200 for more information about how we promote homes to the widest possible audience with our award winning marketing services, and/or to arrange a no obligation market appraisal.
Rutland and Stamford Luxury Property Blog 