2020 meant highest annual...

The office for national statistics has noted that in December 2020, the average UK house price had climbed to £252,000. On average across England there was an increase of 8.5%, Wales experienced an increase of 10.7%, in Scotland they rose by 8.4% and in Northern Ireland 5.3%. This meant the average home in England was £269,000 in December 2020.

It has been said that this price increase across the board has been due to the stamp duty holiday, which is meant to end on the 31st of March 2021. However due to a petition regarding an extension of this holiday in order to stop houses falling through, the extension was discussed in parliament, yet the outcome of this will not be known until the 1st of March 2021 when the budget is released.

While the UK as a whole saw an overall annual increase, parts of the UK saw much higher increases than others, due to local markets being slightly different to others. For example, London saw the lowest increase at 3.5%, this could be due to those working in London offices, now working from home and moving property to rural areas, whereby properties are cheaper.

In the middle of the range was the North East at around a 9% increase, which still holds the cheapest average price in the England at £141,000. Rightmove suggests that over the last year properties in Washington, Tyne and Wear, that had been sold most of these were of terraced properties, suggesting a 2% increase on the year above with an overall average sold price in the area of £158,055.

Coming in with the highest change is the North West at around 11.2% annual change, this could be due to a change of priorities and the need for properties with more outdoor space.

The rental market has been in high demand throughout the last year with a flurry of applicants. This could be due to some first-time buyers pushing back their move due to a lack of high loan to value mortgages, as well as change of priorities or needs from a property. Yomdel Property Sentiment Tracker noted in the past week that Landlord enquiries have increased by 8%. This could be due to the rental market currently being a Landlord's market, this means that there are more applicants compared to available properties.

READ MORE: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/housepriceindex/december2020

READ MORE: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56095357

READ MORE: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/washington.html

READ MORE: https://www.yomdel.com/property-sentiment-tracker

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