London prices soar!

For the first time in the property market history, the average property price for London was over £500,000 in November 2020 according to the Office For National Statistics with an increase over the year of 9.7%. This then meant the average price was £514,000 according to this. This price increase could be due to a mixture of a change in priorities, the stamp duty holiday as well as pent-up demand from the first lockdown where the housing market was put on hold.

While there is a deadline for the stamp duty holiday to end of the 31st March 2021, there has been a petition to extend the holiday further. This currently means that properties under £500,000 in England are currently paying no stamp duty, which can be a saving of £15,000. There is uncertainty if the holiday will be extended or not. However on top of this, a stamp duty surcharge of 2% will be introduced to non-UK residents on the purchase of a property in England and Northern Ireland. This will be on top of other stamp duties that may have to be paid, such as a second property which would mean an additional rate.

The rest of the UK showed an average annual increase of 7.6%, taking the average price of a UK home to £250,000. This was the largest growth since June 2016. The lowest growth was still 4.8% in the East of England with the largest being 9.7% in Yorkshire, London and Humber. At Evolution Properties, we are still seeing a high level of enquires for rental and sales properties. There is still uncertainty of how the market will go in April if there is no stamp duty holiday extension. Some believe it may level out or continue to increase as there is still a high level of pent up demand, change of circumstances and change of priorities.

If you are unsure if now is the time to move, call us today on 01233 501601 to speak to one of your local property experts and we can discuss the current market with you.

READ MORE: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/jan/20/average-london-house-price-exceeds-500000-for-first-time-covid