Property Market update – UK House Price Index – December 2021, published January 2022
Average UK house prices rose by 1% in the three months to December, taking the rate of annual growth to 7.4%, down from 7.7% in September. The value of an average home in the UK is at £242,000 a rise of £17,000 during 2021.
Although Liverpool and Manchester lead the way in price growth in the UK’s largest cities at 10.7% and 8.7%, Leeds continues to perform strongly in 6th place at an increase of 7.8% year on year – Yorkshire and Humberside collectively are seeing growth of 8.5% year on year.
There has been demand for all property types but particularly a drive for family homes. The pandemic ‘search for space’, the stamp duty holiday – where larger savings were available for higher value transactions, and also changing working patterns for office-based workers all contributed to a strong focus on family homes. We have seen this in the wider commuter zones where Bramhope and Adel perform strongly. Rightmove have reported that the jump in average prices this month is driven by homes at the ‘top of the ladder’, which again is good news for North Leeds
The demand for apartments has also risen strongly driven by the re-opening of offices in the big cities.
With activity levels of 1.5 million sales in 2021 (the highest number of transactions in any year since before the financial crisis) this has eroded supply. There is still an imbalance between supply and demand and although new properties coming to the market was quieter in October and part way through November , new supply is coming to the market and we have seen a busy January particularly in Bramhope as the market returns to its usual levels. All the signals are there that suggest the number of committed buyers and sellers is allowing activity to progress, especially where agents are helping to identify properties for would-be sellers to move into.
Rightmove have reported that the number of buyers enquiring about homes is 15% higher than the same time last year, and there are early signs that more property choice is on its way, with the first working week of 2022 being the busiest start of the year ever for people requesting agents to come out and value their homes
While demand continues to outstrip supply there is now more of a balance of the type of home, the largest demand is still family homes.
There are still economic headwinds this year , not least rising inflation which will lead to a rise in the Bank of England base rate and in mortgage rates, however it is worth placing this in a longer run context – mortgage rates are at ultra-low levels so even if at some point they do increase, they will remain relatively low as lenders are competing for business and offering incentives too.
For those who already own a home, around three-quarters of owners have a fixed-rate mortgage deal so they will be protected from any rises for some time.
David Phillip commented “it is clear that the trends which defined the market in 2021 are continuing into 2022, the January market has been very strong, with a varied selection of properties being marketed. However a percentage of buyers enquiring about a property still have their own property to sell, and where they are competing against other buyers who are able to move more quickly may mean that they miss out on the home they want. There is talk of the ‘power buyer’ – by making sure your current home is on the market or preferably sold subject to contract first before starting the search for your new home can give you an added edge”.
So as the property market returns to some sort of normality, if you are considering selling your home in North Leeds, and would like a free market appraisal with David Phillip FRICS call 01134 676 400
David Phillip Estate Agents, 86, Leeds Road, Bramhope, Leeds w: davidphillip.co.uk