With the November 2020 Land Registry data having recently been released, we thought that we would give you an update on the latest UK Property Market statistics as they reveal some very interesting facts.
Here are the headlines as released by the Land Registry to November 2020:
The average price of a property in the UK was: £249,633
The annual price change for a property in the UK was: 7.6%
The monthly price change for a property in the UK was: 1.2%
The largest figure that stands out is the annual price change, which is a significant increase on that for 2019, where the annual price change sat at 2.2%. In addition to this, the average price of a property increased by a total of £14,335!
According to the Land Registry report, “house price growth was strongest in Yorkshire and The Humber and London where prices increased by 9.7% in the year to November 2020. The lowest annual growth was in the East of England, where prices increased by 4.8% in the year to November 2020, up from 4.3% in the year to October 2020.”
In terms of reasons for this significant increase, the Land Registry explains that it “was mainly due to coronavirus (COVID-19) related restrictions introduced in various parts of the UK. However, demand was supported by buyers wanting to complete house purchase transactions before the temporary cut in stamp duty ends in March 2021.”
This is a record-breaking growth statistic for the UK, with the previous peak being 8.4% in March 2016 and then 9.4% in October 2014. The graph below from the Land Registry outlines these peaks.
Looking at the Kent area, annual growth was slower than the average for England, however, at 4.9% it reached the highest level that it had since April 2018 but is certainly a long way off the 12.9% we saw in March 2016!
When looking at the data, it is interesting that each peak appears to be followed by a period of time of slowing growth and with the deadline for the Stamp Duty Holiday looming it will be interesting to see what (if any) impact there is.
What does this all mean for homeowners? It certainly comes as welcome news to those who own property as the value of their asset will have increased, however, it can present a challenge to first-time buyers who are now needing to fork out a larger deposit for their purchase and achieve a higher level of borrowing to fund it.
If you are purchasing a property and have any questions, then we will be more than happy to help where we can. You can either call us on 01322 553282 or contact us online.