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The property boom has caused such a demand for new homes that the supply is being outstripped, which in turn has given property prices a boost of around £2,000 in March.
According to Market Watch, demand is outstripping supply by more than any point within the last decade, and property portal Rightmove reports record levels of new buyers making enquiries.
The traditionally busy spring selling season has seen agreed sales up by 12 per cent in the first week in March compared to the same week last year, despite a shortage of available properties, and two out of three properties on agents’ books have sales agreed, subject to contract.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Data, said: “Concerns of a cliff edge for the housing market at the end of March have dissipated.”
“Partly due to the tax deadline extensions in all of the UK bar Scotland, but also because the already high level of buyer demand caused by the lockdowns has continued to surge since the start of the year.”
He added that demand will get a further boost from April, with the government guaranteeing lenders access to five per cent mortgages.
It is great news for those who are wanting to put their homes on the market, according to Bannister, and the spring season will put a spring in the step of both sellers and buyers.
During his Spring budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that there would be an extension to the Stamp Duty holiday.
It was due to end on 31 March, but will now carry on until 30 June, meaning that if you are buying a home for £500,000 or less, you still won’t pay any stamp duty. This extension is likely to spur a new wave of both sellers and buyers in Spring, addressing the current imbalance between supply and demand.
