Jackson-Stops comments on the latest ONS House Price Index publication

Nick Leeming, Chairman of Jackson-Stops, comments on today’s ONS House Price Index, which shows the strong market continues.

“The statistics today continue to evidence the strength of the market as the year progresses, with transactions almost doubling on the year to March, and house prices shooting up by almost 9% on the year to February.

“We haven’t seen growth like this for more than six years and there’s no sign of it slowing yet. Our branch data reveals an 53% increase in new applicants on the month in March as the market ramps up for its typically busy period over the spring and summer.

“Activity continues to be driven by buyers searching for more space and access to nature, whether that’s locations with a closer connection to the countryside, or properties with larger private gardens. As a result, we have seen huge demand for prime commuter belt locations, with our Sevenoaks, Cranbook and Dorking branches reporting particularly high levels of activity.

“There is still a very significant gap between the strong demand we’re seeing from buyers and availability of new properties. With vaccine rates continuing to rise and lockdown easing, we would expect more vendors to enter the market over the coming months. It is therefore likely that we will see a move towards greater balance as more vendors seek to take advantage of the disparity between supply and demand, as well as the unique opportunity to benefit from low-interest rates and the SDLT holiday for their onward purchase.

“Savvy sellers should act now as these market conditions are creating opportunities to achieve quick sales and extremely strong pricing.”

Kindly shared by Jackson-Stops

Main photo courtesy of Pixabay