Property Market – A Year On From Re-Opening

We are over a year since the housing market re-opened and nearly a year on from the stamp duty holiday being introduced. At Prestige & Village, we have been here for you every step of the way, and it is a helpful time to look back on what has unfolded over the past year.

There has been a lot of growth in some areas

There area which has seen the highest rate of property price growth since the re-opening of the housing market is the North West of the country, with a rate of 12.4%. Yorkshire and the Humber has also benefitted by an increase of 10.3%.

The area which has seen the largest increase in property prices is the Wirral, where property prices have risen by 26%. Other areas where there has been a significant increase include:

Redcar and Cleveland, where there has been a 25% increase in house prices
Pendle has seen a rise of 22%
Selby and North East Derbyshire has seen a rise of 20%
Aeras which have seen a rise of 19% include Forest of Dean, North Warwickshire, Newark and Sherwood
Copeland and Kirklees have welcomed a rise of 18%

London has been sprightly, even with people looking to move

With respect to areas where the monetary increase in monetary terms, Islington in London is the most notable area, with prices rising by 67% in the past year. Other areas where house prices have risen notably include:

Ealing, where there has been a rise of £53,000
Rother, which has experienced an increase of £51,000
Merton has seen a rise of £51,000
Windsor, Maidenhead, Bath and North East Somerset have experienced increases of £47,000
Stratford-on-Avon and Cambridge have welcomed rises of £46,000
Sutton has seen an increase of £45,000 in the past year
Surrey Heath has seen a rise of £44,000 since May 2020

Where have transactions taken place?

When it comes to the aera with the most transactions, it appears as though Leeds is the hotspot of England. Some of the leading locations are:

Leeds, with 6,556 properties sold
Birmingham with 6,245 properties sold
Cornwall, where 5,801 properties were sold

Ged McPartlin, Managing Director of Ascend Properties, commented: “A year ago, many industry ‘experts’ were calling double-digit house price drops and despite the property industry getting the green light to reopen for business, the outlook was uncertain, to say the least. A year on and house prices are hitting record highs with the industry itself buckling under the pressure of extremely high levels of buyer demand. This monumental return to health has been driven by a number of factors. Firstly, a great deal of pent-up demand remained due to Brexit and so there were already a large number of buyers and sellers waiting to transact. During this time, interest rates have also remained at record lows reducing the cost of borrowing considerably.”

Ged McPartlin concluded by saying; “Last but certainly not least, the further incentive of a stamp duty saving caused a mad flurry of buyer activity to hit the market and we’re yet to see this subside. All in all, the market is well and truly back to its best and while a natural easing is expected once the stamp duty holiday does finally expire, this is unlikely to bring any serious detriment where long term health is concerned.”

At Prestige & Village, we care about our community, and supporting others. We aim to provide you with as much help and assistance as we can. If you have any property or housing questions, please feel free to contact us today.