Rightmove’s first housing market report of 2022 shows a strong start to the New Year.
It has reported that the average price of property coming to market has risen by 0.3 per cent this month to £341,019, which is 7.6 per cent higher than a year ago. A strong demand but with lower numbers of homes for sale, has also continued into the start of the year, with the number of buyers enquiring about homes 15 per cent higher than the same time last year, and causing bidding wars on available properties. Rightmove has reported that competition among buyers is set to be almost double what it was in January 2021.
First-time buyer asking prices also hit a new record of £214,176 after a monthly jump of 1.4 per cent. The first working week of 2022 was recorded as being the busiest start of the year ever for people requesting agents to come out and value their homes: with the number of home valuation requests up 44 per cent on the same period last year, and 48 per cent up on the same period in 2020. Thankfully Rightmove also noted that there are clear signs that more properties will be coming to market, which should help the demand – supply issue.
40 per cent of people enquiring about a home who have a property to sell say that they are yet to put it on the market. In the current market however, where they are competing against others who are able to move more quickly, this is likely to mean they’ll miss out on the home they want. Tim Bannister, from Rightmove stated: “To put yourself in the best possible position to proceed, you should become a ‘power buyer’, by making sure your current home is on the market or preferably sold subject to contract first, before starting the search for your new home.”
With 2022 off to a flying start, the property market looks set to continue to be on the up this year. Remember, if you are an agent who is owed fees, we can help. Contact one of our team to discuss the range of services we offer to assist recovery of debts within the property sector.
