Monthly UK House Price Statistics – January

Monthly UK House Price Statistics – January

The Monthly UK house price statistics for January are in – Here are our main takeaways…

A Strong Start to the Year

Despite the slight slowdown in house price inflation which we have seen over recent months, the market generally has shown a strong start to the year in terms of activity. Rightmove has seen a very busy start to the year with an increase in the numbers of people home hunting. Visits to Rightmove are up 5% in the first two weeks of the year compared to a year ago. That makes an average of over 4.5 million visits to the portal each day, showing that house hunters are still out there, searching the site in vast numbers.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst comments: “As we move from the old year into the new, the headline summary is that the Christmas slowdown came early and the hangover lasted a few days longer into the New Year than usual. Agents report that activity is now picking up…”

New Year brings new buyers

We are pleased to say that here at Seddons, we have noticed a similarly bouyant start to the year with our Cullompton office alone agreeing 10 sales in as many days in the first half of January and the group as a whole agreeing 40 sales in January and 17 lets. Despite the political uncertainly surrounding Brexit, it seems that the housing market will continue to move – as we have said before in this blog, people will still need to buy and sell houses, despite the machinations of parliament!

People will keep moving!

Miles Shipside again, “Mass-market home-movers have a track record of ignoring the politics and continuing to satisfy their housing needs, and as long as these fundamentals remain in place through this period of uncertainty, the market will keep moving. Indeed, in 2018 the number of sales agreed by estate agents was down by only 3% on 2017, an indicator of resilience and holding up much better than many had forecast.”

Nationally, the picture is for modest house price growth with new to market properties 0.4% up on December overall. The stats for market sectors* show that the Second-Stepper market fared the best with a 1.1% increase in the month, with the top of the ladder lowest at 0.6%. The first time buyer sector showing a 0.9% uplift. The regional picture is very similar with a 0.6% increase recorded in the month, bringing the average price of property in the South West to £297,702.

If you are considering testing the market this year – get in touch with us for a free property consultation.

*Market sectors explained:

First-time buyer: This figure represents the typical property a first-time buyer would purchase, covering all two bed properties and smaller that come to market (houses and flats).

Second-stepper: This figure represents the typical property of a person moving from their first home, covering all three and four bed properties that come to market (houses and flats) excluding four bed detached houses.

Top of the ladder: This figure represents asking prices at the top end of the market, covering all five bed properties and above (houses and flats), as well as four bed detached houses.

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