UK House Price Index - September 2020Rightmove's Monthly Analysis
The largest monthly sample of residential property prices
Price record for larger homes as buyers compete for space
- Price of property coming to market up 0.2% this month, just £269 below the record set in July:
- Second-stepper sector of three- or four-bedroom homes hits new record of £291,618, as more buyers seek larger homes
- Northern regions strongest for price jumps, with Yorkshire & the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, North East, North West and Scotland all at new records
- Sales agreed compared to this time last year stronger for larger homes – more than doubling in the largest ‘top of the ladder’ homes sector (+104%), and growing strongly in the second-stepper sector (+55%)
- National sales agreed for the whole year to date are down just 5% on the same period in 2019, with East of England (+4%) and South East (+1%) already ahead, while Scotland (-21%) and Wales (-16%) still lag behind due to their later reopening
The trend of up-sizing to a larger home has continued at pace over the past month, leading to record asking prices in the second-stepper sector, made up of three- or four-bedroom homes. This price record has been fuelled by buyers looking for more space, including both those who need extra space for their families and those looking for room to work from home.
Overall prices have remained steady since they hit a record in July, up by a marginal 0.2% on the month, and up by 5.0% annually, which is the highest annual growth rate recorded since September 2016.
Regions outside the South of England have seen the strongest price jumps, with Yorkshire & the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, North East, North West and Scotland all at new records.
The demand for larger homes is also reflected in the number of sales being agreed by agents compared to this time last year. The strongest sector is ’top of the ladder’, which includes four-bedroom detached homes and larger. Sales agreed, compared with the same period last year, more than doubled in August in this sector, up by 104%. While in the second-stepper sector (three- or four-bedroom homes excluding four-bedroom detached) they were up by 55%. The first-time-buyer sector of two bedrooms or fewer, although not as strong as the larger homes sectors, still saw sales agreed up by 36%.
- Nationally,
Sales agreed for the whole year to date are now down by only 5% on the same period last year. Two regions – the East of England (+4%) and the South East (+1%) – have already overtaken the number of sales agreed for the same period last year, helped by higher average prices causing the stamp duty holiday to have more of an impact for buyers and sellers in these areas. Unsurprisingly both Scotland and Wales are in double digit declines as they are still playing catch up from reopening their housing markets later than England, and are now down by 21% and 16% respectively.
- In London,
Sales agreed for the year to date are down by just 3%, with a two-speed market in play. There is strong sales activity in Outer London, especially for top-of-the-ladder homes, while areas like Zone 1 are finding it more challenging, where sales are down by 14% for the whole year to date compared to the same period last year. The strong activity in Outer London has helped the capital to climb back to being the second fastest region for the average time taken to secure a buyer, now being beaten only by Scotland at 35 days. The average number of days to agree a sale in London is now 49, a significant 20 days shorter than at this time last year. Nationally, the average time to secure a buyer has dropped from 62 days in August 2019 to 53 this August.
- Rightmove’s analysis,
Estimates that there are nearly 40% more sales currently on the journey from agreeing a price towards completing the sale compared to this time last year, leading to agents reporting that they are having to manage expectations with clients and explain to them that their sales are going to take a bit longer to complete.
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