The UK property market is in the strongest spring sellers’ market for a decade with buyer demand remaining high and the stamp duty holiday extended, property site Rightmove has said.
According to the latest Rightmove research, published on 15 March, the current demand for properties is the highest it has been for a decade, pushing asking prices up 0.8% in the four weeks to 6 March – this follows a 0.5% increase in the previous four-week period. The number of potential buyers enquiring about each available property in the month is at a record and is 34% higher than the same period in 2020, it added. In the East of England Rightmove reported a 2% uplift in property prices, with an average price of £371,366.
Source: Rightmove
This news comes just as the housing market moves into its traditional spring selling period. Already in the first week of March the number of agreed sales is up 12% on the same month last year. Rightmove said that the combination of lockdown and more government incentives was driving the price rises.
Watsons Residential Sales Customer Services Manager Ian Harris said: “The already high level of buyer demand caused by the lockdowns has continued to surge since the start of the year. Demand is such that more stock is definitely needed. Hopefully the spring and summer sunshine will bring more properties to market, with many buyers waiting to pounce.”
