Search Acumen comments on ONS House Price Index for June 2020
Andy Sommerville, Director of Search Acumen, comments on the publication (16 September) of the ONS House Price Index for June 2020.
Highlights:
- UK new build property prices rise 5.9% annually, increasing to £302,253 in April 2020, up from £285,308 on the same month last year1
- UK new build property prices jump 1.5% over the last month, up from £297,833 in March 20201
Andy Sommerville comments:
“These latest figures show that the release of pent up demand following the easing of restrictions have put upward pressure on prices across all segments of England’s property market, particularly in the new build sector.
“Raising the stamp duty threshold has accelerated this trend by stimulating market activity. Robust conditions may paint a rosy picture but in reality, signs that the market is overheating are starting to emerge. The difficulties that prospective buyers are experiencing in securing a mortgage are likely to impact first-time buyers the most and could cause a dip in the new build sector, which is largely kept afloat by this group.
“Further, it has been a tough task for public bodies, such as HM Land Registry and Local Authorities, to keep up. We are only a few weeks in, and we are already seeing the age-old search delays starting to rear its ugly head.
“It is time the Government acted decisively by tackling delays through proper investment and an acceleration of the digitisation programme. While this won’t be cracked by 31st March 2021, an industry wide change in mindset is required now, not to mention a new approach to leveraging the available technology to harness the data at our fingertips. Only then will we be able to identify risks upfront, reduce uncertainty and progress transactions more effectively.”
1Source: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/housepriceindex/june2020
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Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay
