The average price of properties coming to market was 0.5% higher in February, according to data from Rightmove
According to data from Rightmove, the average price of properties coming to market was 0.5% higher in February, at £1,522.
This comes after average prices declined for three consecutive months.
The property portal said this was because fewer new sellers came to market, along with increased demand.
According to the data, one in five buyers who agreed a purchase in July last year have still not completed more than six months later, with an estimated 100,000 buyers in total who are still likely to miss out on their expected tax saving due to the stamp duty holiday.
This figure is double than those for the previous year, when only one in 10 purchases that were agreed in July 2019 were still waiting to complete during this time last year.
However, the number of new buyers continues to rise, despite the fact that it is too late to beat stamp duty deadline.
Comparing the first week of February 2020 and 2021, visits were up 45%, with enquiries rising 18%, and the number of purchases agreed rising 7%, noted the portal.
Moreover, there is 21% drop in the number of new sellers coming to the market over the last four weeks compared with the year before.
Tim Bannister, director of property data at Rightmove, said: Last year the market was unexpectedly buoyed by buyers’ determination to move and satisfy their new lockdown-induced housing needs. We may well be seeing a continuation of that this year. Rightmove’s early 2021 buyer data shows that despite the imminent end of the stamp duty incentive, all of the key buyer metrics are ahead of early 2020, itself an active period as the market was boosted by the post-election ‘Boris bounce’, Bannister said.
As well as the current lockdown motivating buyer demand again, the restrictions have also been a factor in limiting new supply, leading to some modest upwards price pressure. These are strong signs that new buyer demand is not facing a cliff-edge after 31 March, he said.
He said, it remains to be seen if this momentum will be enough to make up for the removal of the stamp duty savings that are benefitting many buyers and have been adding a sense of urgency to the whole market. Ironically, whilst it’s too late for the stamp duty holiday, there are good reasons to come to market now, especially if selling a property suitable for a family.
