Rightmove House Price Index – Coverage and reaction

Event
Rightmove House Price Index January 2022
Event status
Finished
Bryan Hay
13:15

We'll be bringing the live feed to a close for today. However, we will be running these in the future to coincide with big stories. 

Watch this space.

The I.

Bryan Hay
09:35

Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance: 

"With such a lack of supply of good properties on the market, combined with plenty of cheap mortgages, buyers are pushing themselves to make sure they don’t miss out and asking prices continue to rise as sellers take advantage. If that means having to pay more for a home, then many buyers are prepared to do so.

"With inflation continuing to rise and higher mortgage rates likely at some point, this situation is unlikely to change in the short term if the supply situation does not improve. It remains to be seen what will happen as something approaching ’normality’ returns and things settle down."

Bryan Hay
08:02

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman:

"Asking prices continue to rise, which is not surprising bearing in mind the lack of supply. Market appraisals are on the rise as well, but not fast enough to provide more of a balance between supply and demand. 

"Rising asking prices are all very well but transaction numbers are more important and a more reliable snapshot of the health of the housing market. Lack of supply is holding back transactions, which is not good news for the property market or the wider economy.

"It is of particular concern that first-time buyers are being asked to pay yet more to get a foot on the ladder. More realistic pricing is essential if first-time buyers are not going to be priced out of a purchase completely."

Bryan Hay
06:50

Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves:

“There have been no signs of a sluggish start to the year for the property market and not only are we seeing a very strong level of buyer activity, but we’ve also been inundated with requests from potential sellers keen to make the most of these buoyant market conditions. 

"We’re now seeing a strong level of activity returning to the London market and the capital’s forecast is far brighter for the year ahead, having been uncharacteristically left in the shadows during the pandemic house price boom. 

"Overseas buyers are returning in their number and the capital is hotting up as the time to sell a home reduces and stock availability comes under pressure. 

"If buyers are quick there is still an element of ‘old stock’ that has been stuck on the market and these opportunities can potentially be snapped up at relatively decent price levels - for now.”

Bryan Hay
06:29

Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short: 

“Many home sellers will have listed their home prior to the festive break in anticipation of a fast start to the year and this proactive approach is now paying off as many are already accepting offers on their homes. 

"However, for those buyers who are struggling to find their ideal home, there is hope for the year ahead. Now that the dust has settled following the final stamp duty holiday deadline, we’re seeing a significant increase in the number of sellers heading to market.

"So we can expect to see a good level of fresh stock materialise over the coming months, bringing greater choice to buyers and adding yet further fuel to the house price growth furnace.”

Bryan Hay
06:18

Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of HBB Solutions:

“There’s certainly been no New Year’s change where the UK property market is concerned and homebuyers are still swamping the market while house prices continue to defy the ‘what goes up must come down’ mantra.

"In fact, with stock levels remaining low, this fresh wave of demand is pushing asking prices even higher than the stamp duty fuelled thresholds of last year. 

"When you also consider that the cost of borrowing is still very low, we can expect more of the same where property market performance is concerned in 2022.”

Bryan Hay
06:06

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data:

“New Year sellers and buyers have been quick off the mark this year, with Rightmove recording the highest ever number of Boxing Day sellers coming to market.

“These early-bird sellers who got themselves ready to come to market are now benefitting from the busiest start to the year that we’ve ever recorded, with the number of prospective buyers enquiring about homes up 15% on this time last year.

“People who have made it their New Year’s resolution to move are finding asking prices are within just one percent of the record from October last year, and are at the highest level ever recorded for first-time-buyer type homes.

“All of the signs suggest that prices are likely to continue to rise until more choice is available.

“Three regions are in most urgent need of new supply, the East Midlands, South West and South East of England, as they are now at unsustainable rates of annual price growth above 10%.”

Bryan Hay
05:47

The index shows:  

  • The average price of property coming to market was up 0.3% this month (+£852) to £341,019, which is 7.6% higher than in January 2021, the highest annual rate of price growth recorded by Rightmove since May 2016
  • First-time buyer asking prices hit a new record of £214,176 after a monthly jump of 1.4%
  • Strong demand and continuing low numbers of available homes for sale set up the housing market frenzy to continue into the start of 2022, with early-bird sellers benefitting from increased buyer competition:
  • The number of buyers enquiring about homes is 15% higher than the same time last year
  • The number of available homes for sale per estate agency branch drops again to a new record low of just 12
  • As a result, competition among buyers is almost double what it was at this time last year
  • However, 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:
  • The number of home valuation requests in the first working week of 2022 is 44% up on the same period last year, and 48% up on the same period in 2020
Bryan Hay
05:46

Good morning from The Intermediary.

With the release of the Rightmove House Price Index today we'll be giving you a rundown of the latest data and reaction. 

If you'd like to contribute send an email with your comments to [email protected].

Also, be sure to subscribe by hitting the button in the top right corner of your screen.

The I. 

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