House prices rising their...

Halifax have noted that since lockdown there has been the highest month on month rise for the last sixteen years, reversing the effects of house prices following lockdown. The Guardian noted that over the last twelve months that there has been an increase overall in-house prices of 3.7%, despite Covid-19 restrictions and consequences, a recession, Brexit and a general election. Nationwide explained that August house prices rose 2% compared to July, which was the highest for years, placing the average price of a house in the UK at £224,123.

There have been many factors that could have collectively impacted this rise, such as no stamp duty for properties in England and Northern Ireland under £500,000 until 31st of March 2021 and the pent-up demand. According to Zoopla, this has been a 12-day quicker increase in sales, compared to August 2019.

This has meant that the property market has recovered quicker post lockdown than expected originally. Andrew Bush, your Ashford local property expert at Evolution properties has seen an influx of sales properties, with new instructions hitting an all time high. Lockdown has clearly made home owners aware of priorities they need and want from a property, such as a bigger garden or more room or even downsizing for some. Currently even though it has been stated the UK is in one of the biggest recessions it has seen for years, it currently has not affected the housing market. This does not mean that in the future, once all the pent-up demand has settled that there won't be a levelling out or decrease in house prices, due to a high amount of job losses from Covid-19.

However once again this might take another toll on first time buyers as not only will they need a higher deposit, but they no longer have the advantage over other buyers of not paying stamp duty.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/sep/02/uk-house-prices-hit-record-high-after-easing-of-covid-lockdown

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53919558?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cdl8n2edgj5t/housing-market&link_location=live-reporting-story

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53995878