After holding its breath for much of last year, it seems the property market has finally come up for air with the highest number of transactions in over two years.
The number of completed sales (seasonally adjusted) was up by 4.1% on December, and up by 5.2% on January last year, according to the latest HMRC data. The total of 102,810 completed sales is the highest since July 2017, over two and a half years ago.
Neil Knight, business development director at Spicerhaart Part-Exchange and Assisted Move, said: “Today’s figures show the strong activity in December continuing into January, with residential transactions up more than 5% on the previous year.
“Last month’s statistics were the first sign that the market had turned a corner and that confidence is beginning to return after a long period of political uncertainty. The January figures are welcome confirmation that this was more than just a one-off and the post-election bounce could turn out to be real.
“There remains a great deal to do to turn the bounce into a sustained upturn in the market but we are continuing to see very strong demand for part-exchange and assisted move services, with people who may have been putting off moving now increasingly impatient to get on with their lives.”
Much of this can be attributed to pent up demand from last year. Search Acumen’s Director, Andy Sommerville, said: “The start of the year saw a slight uplift in the property market as the backlog of transactions that were put on hold at the end of 2019 start to be unleashed given the improved political climate at the very end of last year.”
However, while the housing market is experiencing a sugar rush, keeping the momentum going as the UK continues precarious negotiations with the EU may not be as sweet.
Joseph Daniels, founder of offsite eco developer Project Etopia, said: “The UK is finally exhibiting some get-up-and-go in terms of sales volumes. This is the second month in a row that the market has chalked up annual growth on a seasonally adjusted basis, and the second month in a row that the total has smashed through the 100,000 mark.
“The rate of growth also remains impressive, coming in at 5.2% for January, following 6.8% year on year growth in December. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis the annual growth rate last month hit 12.7%.
“This is great news long term for first-time buyers and the wider house building industry but it needs to be sustained. No flash-in-the-pan rise in sales volumes is going to fix the problem of low housing stock in Britain and these green shoots need to bloom into a lasting recovery.
“The level of transactions has been down the road to ruin over the past 10 years and had fallen annually for eight straight months prior to December on a seasonally adjusted basis, but at least they now seem to be back in the ascendency.”
Of course, if prices do remain elevated, affordability could suffer. Josef Wasinski, co-founder of Wayhome, said: “An increase in transactions reflects positively on the market but it doesn’t hide the reality many are facing. Affordability is a key issue as prices remain too high for many and those looking to buy are left with few options and often have to compromise on location and suitability.
“Radical change is now essential. We hope the Government soon provides the support promised during the election manifesto so renters can graduate from ‘generation rent’. Innovation will be central to this and provide credible, affordable routes to homeownership.”
