House Prices Reach Record Heights Due to Short Supply
Property prices are up by 2.1%, a fourth consecutive monthly record.
The average price of property coming to market is £367,501, putting prices £55,000 higher than pre-pandemic, according to the latest data released by Rightmove.
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Prices last scaled these heights at this time of year in 2014, according to data by Rightmove. In the two years before the pandemic, there was a rise of just £6,218. In over twenty years of tracking prices, Rightmove said such a dramatic two-year price growth had never been seen before:
The number of properties available to buy is 55% down on the levels seen in 2019, meaning that supply and demand look likely to remain out of kilter for at least the rest of the year.
Another interest rate rise
The news comes alongside a fourth successive interest rate rise, which doesn’t seem to have ebbed the volume of people wanting to move.
ONS figures show that inflation rose to 9% in the year to April, up from an already high 7% in March. This was the fastest measured rate since records began in 1989, and the ONS estimates it was the highest since 1982.
Rightmove added that:
- The number of buyers contacting estate agents is 14% down on this time last year (2021)
- The number of buyers contacting estate agents is up 31% on the more comparable market of 2019
- The number of sales agreed is up by 12% in the year to date compared to 2019
- The number of sales agreed is down 17% compared to the exceptional market of the same period in 2021
Also this month, average monthly mortgage payments (£901) will overtake average monthly rental payments (£887). But interestingly, the gap in payments has narrowed, meaning that in terms of monthly outgoings, it is no longer considerably cheaper to buy.
But Rightmove said it expected the effects of the increased cost-of-living and rising interest rates to filter through to the market ‘later in the year’.
If you’re concerned about what rising interest rates might mean for you as a First-Time-Buyer or even for your upcoming remortgage, book in a chat with our mortgage experts. Our advice is completely free and we can help you find the right deal for you.
