Housing market still receptive to stimulus measures

Andy Sommerville, Director at Search Acumen, comments on the Halifax House Price Index, which shows that housing market still receptive to stimulus measures as House prices jump 1.1% over the last month to reach record high.

“This latest data shows that the housing market is still receptive to government stimulus measures.

“The rise in house prices over the last month can be partly attributed to improved consumer confidence in the housing market, triggered by the extension of the Stamp Duty Holiday.

“Even though a large proportion of homebuyers had already rushed to complete transactions before the first Stamp Duty holiday deadline early in the year, new buyers continue to enter the market to capture the potential financial benefits on offer from the higher threshold. Tailwinds in the market are also likely being supported by consumers who have built up high levels of savings over the course of the pandemic deploying these reserves as deposits on house purchases.

“Prices are likely to continue on an upward trend in April, caused by the confirmation of the Stamp Duty holiday extension and improved consumer confidence levels as a result of the success of the vaccine rollout and the reopening of the UK. However, in the medium term, the second stage of this Stamp Duty holiday will not have the same impact on house prices than the first stage.

“While we are likely to see fewer transactions, the issue of the backlog of properties awaiting completion still needs to be solved. A key part of achieving this will be by providing real estate lawyers with digital tools to tap property data that is crucial to progressing transactions. By enabling them to reduce time spent on due diligence processes, lawyers will be freed up to provide value added advisory services to clients that will help them to complete transactions sooner.” 

Kindly shared by Search Acumen

Main photo courtesy of Pixabay