The combination of a shortage of available properties and a large number of buyers coming to the market has limited the impact of Covid-19 on property prices and is helping the market recover, according to Chestertons as the Halifax index showed prices dropped by just 0.1% in June.
The Halifax House Price Index, released on 7th July, shows prices stabilising across the UK, with prices still 2.5% higher than June 2019.
At the same time, Chestertons – one of London’s largest agents – reports growing activity levels in London, with 46% more people registering to buy than in May and hopeful buyers making 27% more offers on properties.
These numbers are also up on last year, with 30% more buyers registering and 30% more offers being made than in June last year.
However, while buyers are keen to secure a property, sellers appear to be less sure about putting their properties on the market, and there are 4% less properties on the market now compared to last year.
Guy Gittins, Chestertons’ Managing Director, said:
“Three months of lockdown has given people a lot of time to think about their homes, and as soon as the market re-opened in May, we saw a surge of enquiries coming through from people serious about moving.
“Many expected prices to fall dramatically after lock-down but, due to the shortage of available properties on the market, prices have been well supported and now appear to be pretty stable.”
“We expect the market to remain busy during the remainder of summer and into the autumn, boosted by the return of overseas buyers as quarantine restrictions are lifted”
Nick Barnes, Chestertons Head of Research, added:
“We recently forecast that prices across London would fall by between 7%-9% over 2020 as a whole but given the way the market is moving we may revise this upwards next month.
“If buyer numbers remain ahead of the number of available properties we could even see a return to moderate growth in some locations towards the end of the year.”
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