With the price of property coming to market having risen by 2.3% this month (+£7,785) to a record of £348,804 the market has been quick to react.
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Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance:
“The rush to buy a home seen over the past 18 months is by no means over, with buyers still looking to take advantage of the low interest rate environment before affordability becomes an issue.
“With space at a premium, and working environments having changed with more people working from home a few days a week, savings made on commuting can be put towards the mortgage.
“Lack of supply of quality and sustainable homes in the most desired locations continues to fuel the frenzy, resulting many sellers having the luxury of multiple offers on their homes, pushing prices ever higher.”
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS chairman:
“The market is continuing where it left off at the end of last year. Although Rightmove‘s figures are based on asking, rather than selling, prices, there still seems to be scope for further increases.
“Demand hasn’t been blown off course so far by the weather, rising interest rates or inflation as we have recorded a significant proportion of buyers who missed out in some of last year’s competitive bidding returning for another try.
“Listings are increasing but not fast enough to satisfy appetite for houses in particular which is inevitably reducing the number of transactions.
“Looking forward, stretched affordability will mean prices cannot keep rising at the same pace but certainly there’s no sign of any significant softening yet.”
Andrew Teacher, independent property expert and founder at Blackstock Consulting:
“The housing market now seems to be decompressing, with interest from buyers expanding and sprawling like a giant slinky spring. However, it’s important to put these statistics into context as they are for the first real month since the Covid cloud started to lift.
“The other key point is that the result of caution driven by Covid sas been a lack of supply, with people hedging their bets and holding off from buying or selling their home.
“This in itself has been a key driver of pricing as those areas of the market with significant interest, like London and many others, will likely have been more competitive than in a traditional market.”
James Forrester, managing director of Birmingham estate agent Barrows and Forrester:
“There’s certainly been no let up in the sheer volume of buyers swamping the market and we continue to see high numbers fighting it out for a very limited level of stock, the result of which is an inevitable boost to property values.
However, we’re also seeing sellers preempt this high demand and enter the market at a far higher price point to take advantage of this buyer desperation and this has pushed asking prices up at their highest monthly rate in over two decades.”
Marc von Grundherr, director of London estate agent Benham and Reeves:
“There have been numerous signs that the London market is starting to turn in recent months and it is very likely we’ve now seen the back of the capital’s pandemic house price slump.
The start of 2022 has been exceptionally busy and buyer enquiries have shot through the roof, as
London home buyers try to get in quick and secure a purchase before house prices start to accelerate.
It’s only a matter of time before this initial buyer demand and the sharp increase in asking prices starts to filter through to completed sales, at which point we expect home sellers across the London market will further up their asking prices as a result of this growing market confidence.”
Geoff Garrett, director of Henry Dannell:
“It remains very much a sellers market and the continued increase in asking price expectations demonstrates this, as buyers are further stretched in order to secure a home.
However, with high chances of at least two further interest rate increases over the course of this year, those purchasing with the help of a tracker or variable rate mortgage will notice their monthly costs climb significantly.
While it’s a competitive market, it’s strongly advisable to avoid over stretching yourself financially to secure a purchase, as this could well lead to financial instability further down the line.”
