Following the stamp duty holiday extension announcement earlier this month, buyer demand has rocketed, creating the ‘strongest spring housing market for sellers in a decade’ according to Rightmove.
Last week, Rightmove reported its busiest day ever with site visits surpassing 9 million for the first time, and house hunters spending a record 71 million minutes on the property website. This figure is 6% higher than when the stamp duty holiday was first announced on 8th July last year.
And this wasn’t just casual house browsing traffic.
Rightmove reported that the number of buyers coming into the market and contacting estate agents on budget day was 82% higher than on the same day in 2020.
Their figures also revealed that demand levels are 34% higher than this time last year when we were still experiencing a strong pre-lockdown market.
Soaring levels of buyer demand are currently outstripping the number of homes for sale by the biggest margin at any time over the past decade.
This is officially the best sellers’ market of the decade – and arguably one of the best ever Easter periods to sell.
With demand for new homes is outweighing supply, it’s putting upward pressure on house prices.
According to Zoopla’s latest House Price Index, the typical value of a home is now 4.1% higher than at the start of the first national lockdown in 2020.
During the past year, property price tags have risen by an average of £8,907 or £750 a month.
They also found that February marked the fourth consecutive month that house price growth was above 4%, matching levels last seen in the summer of 2017.
Across the UK, the average price for a house has risen by 4.9% over the last 12 months, according to Zoopla’s data. But which areas across the UK are we seeing the biggest jump?
Wales has seen the strongest growth over the past year at 5.7%, followed by the North West at 5.4%, with Yorkshire and Humber close behind at 5.2%.
Meanwhile, house price growth in the Midlands, North of England, Wales, and Scotland is at an almost 10-year high, powered by the relative affordability of these markets.
Their report showed that Northern cities continued to outperform the South, with Manchester leading the way with year-on-year price increases of 6.6%.
Liverpool followed in second with year-on-year price increases of 6.4%, and Leeds at 5.4%.
The spike in demand, which is fuelling faster selling times, is great news for anyone looking to sell.
The average time it takes to sell a property, excluding London, has fallen by nearly a week to just 44 days – with the number of sales agreed 5.3% higher than it was a year ago.
So, if you’re looking to sell your home, you could achieve a higher price for it faster than you thought!
But if you’re hoping to sell ahead of the stamp duty deadline and make the most of the current market, you need to put your property on the market now.
Your window of opportunity to beat the tax deadline and make the most of the strongest selling market in over a decade is small – and is shrinking every day.
But, with the right people working on your behalf, you can make the most of the current market.
If you’re thinking about selling your home, we can help you make a safe, successful move.
Get in touch with us today on 0161 443 4861 to book your FREE, no-obligation valuation. We’d love to chat about how we make your perfect move happen.
You can also book your valuation online, here.
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