UK property prices increase at an incredible pace in just one month

one month wonder

Property prices across the UK have increased by an average of a record shattering £8,000 according to data from RightMove.
The reason this figure is so significant is because it is the single largest increase in property prices that has ever been recorded by RightMove since it began collecting data 20 years ago.

What is the situation looking like?

RightMove says that the average asking prices for properties are 9.5% higher than the year before with signs that indicate both buyers and sellers have a “fear of missing out” on the housing market before prices increase yet further and the property ladder lifts itself out of reach for those not on it.

It has also become clear that the average listing price of a property has £40,000 to £348,804 in 2 years since the beginning of the pandemic compared to a £9000 rise in the 2 years prior to the pandemic. Many pundits predicted that prices would infact fall with the advent of the pandemic as the supply would increase due to offices being converted to flats. However as the situation has progressed it has started to become increasingly visible that the trend in this prediction was deeply flawed. It failed to assume that people would be moving to rural areas or to larger properties within the cities and that large service sector companies banked on the pandemic ending soon and held onto their office spaces / adapted a form of hybrid working.

These factors combined together formed a powerful driving force that led to the increase in property prices.
Potential buyers sent 16 per cent more messages to estate agents than they did this time last year.

Clear skies or the eye of the storm?

The number of sellers putting up their properties for sale increased by a sizable 11 percent compared to one year ago, while the number of buyers requesting a home valuation rose by a similar percentage. Many see this as a possible end to the price rises we are currently experiencing, while others argue that this is simply a speed-bump and will not affect the overall direction of the market.

While the argument for this recent development leading to a price dip is a compelling one, when we look back at this data provided by Nationwide depicting house prices from 1975-2019. The trend is as clear as day, prices are increasing and will continue increasing. As long as there is a large population and a small supply of properties, the basic law of supply and demand will apply.

What should I do?

The answer to that is simple and the evidence behind it is overwhelming. You should buy a property, as soon as you can, do not put it off until an imaginary dip in the market otherwise someone else will take your options and leave you 1 rung down on the property ladder and in a market which is ever increasing in price, this is most certainly not a place you want to be in.