Surge in UK housing demand in January leads to 11 buyers chasing every property
The monthly UK housing report from the National Association of Estate Agents shows a decline in the number of properties on the market, despite a rise in the number of buyers.
The average number of properties for sale per estate agent branch fell to 38 in January, down from 41 in December. This is the lowest reading since last summer. The average number of buyers registered with each branch rose however to 425, which is a 10% rise month-on-month. The tightening in the supply and demand now means that there is an average of 11 buyers chasing every property for sale. This is starting to be reflected in house prices where more than one in 20 properties sold for more than the asking price in January, the highest level since April last year.
At Bardens we continue to believe that the housing shortage, coupled with the stronger than expected economy and record low interest rates will lead to a strong housing market this year. As a result, we believe that consensus forecasts for house prices this year will turn out to be too conservative, and expect sentiment in the housing market to improve further in coming months.