According to the latest Halifax House Price Index, the average UK home stands at around £241,604, 3.8% higher than a year ago
The South West, and Cornwall in particular, should be capturing the attention of property investors despite the economic challenges posed by Covid-19.
That’s according to Reece Mennie, the chief executive and co-founder of investment company Hunter Jones.
Despite the economy being badly impacted by the coronavirus crisis, he believes the UK property market is hot right now, with the industry seeing a ‘surprising and much-welcomed resurgence’ since it was allowed to reopen in mid-May.
Property prices are at an all-time high, with the average UK home now standing at around £241,604, a 3.8% increase on a year ago, according to the most recent Halifax House Price Index.
A national housing shortage, coupled with Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s ‘summer budget’ stamp duty holiday, has resulted in a buying surge, which has rapidly pushed up prices, Mennie says.
Unfortunately, not everyone is in the position to enjoy the benefits of owning their own home, so it is no surprise that rental demand has also increased, by as much as 20% according to property listings website Rightmove, Mennie says.
This is evidenced, Mennie adds, by the latest research from the British Property Federation (BPF) which revealed this month that between the second quarter of 2019 and the same period of 2020, completed Build to Rent homes rose by 37% while the number in planning soared by 27%.
With Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s economic recovery motto being ‘build, build, build’ and Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick overhauling the country’s outdated planning system in order to create ‘better-quality neighbourhoods and homes across the country’, there has never been a more reassuring time to buy, rent or invest, and one such place is the South West of England, Mennie argues.
