This week Zoopla have released encouraging data that shows the housing market is booming again despite the COVID-19 elephant in the room. Incredibly in 2021, one in sixteen privately owned homes having changed hands for various reasons making it the busiest year in the housing market since 2007. What does 2022 hold?
Property website giant Zoopla have released their latest property price index which amongst other things, catalogues and documents housing trends and price increases and decreases. The property index shows that the average house price in the UK increased around 6.9% on an annual basis in October 2021, compared to an annual growth of 3.5% in October 2020. This takes the average house price to £240,000 meaning that the removal of the stamp duty holiday has not put as many people off from buying as many expected!
“28% higher than the five-year average”
Zoopla also says in the index that buyer demand now is 28% higher than the five-year average they have recorded previously while new property stock is 5% to 10% below typical levels seen in previous years. Zoopla believes that new property supply will rise as 2022 begins and demand will drop slightly due to rising inflation and higher mortgage rates which will inevitably affect housing prices.
They have also made a positive comment on how they predict mortgage interest rates to be affected by this saying “We predict that mortgage rates are likely to remain relatively low compared to long-run averages, and there is more room for price growth across some of the most affordable housing markets.” The press release by Zoopla shows that homes collectively worth £473 billion will be sold this year, that’s up £95 billion on the number of offers accepted in 2020.
“Expanded the horizons”
So now on to Zoopla’s predictions for the market in 2022. It seems that there are a serious of both positive and negative things that could happen to the market in 2022, all of which are not certain but could be a real possibility. Nicky Burridge writing for Zoopla says: “The ability to work from home has expanded the horizons for many office workers who now feel able to look further afield when searching for a permanent home.
Our research shows that 22% of people currently want to move, significantly higher than the usual 5% in a normal market. The high levels of equity homeowners have built up during the past 18 months and the shortage of homes on the market is expected to support house price growth well into 2022. But on the downside, the rising cost of living, combined with an expectation that taxes will rise next year, will impact affordability.”
If you or anyone you know is looking to purchase a property in the near future, we are here ready to listen and offer our expert mortgage advice. Feel free to give us a call on 02088771169 to speak to a friendly member of our team.
