Mini Boom Reported In Housing Market – But For How Long?

Back in the summer I reflected on ‘Bounce Back July’ – a post lockdown flurry in housing market activity, primarily as a result of the ‘stamp duty holiday’ announced by the Government. Now as we go into winter, watchers are still reporting a booming market with 50% more sales waiting to be completed. Rightmove report more homes are marked sold than for sale, with properties changing hands quicker than ever and prospective buyers spurred on by a fast moving market.

Zoopla’s own index shows annual house price growth is at 3% with Nottingham seeing the biggest rise of 5.1%. However, the biggest rise in sales is focussed on the south east and London where ‘top end’ properties are more likely to be appearing on the market as people choose to move from city to country. According to Zoopla, this is a bigger driver of the mini boom than the stamp duty holiday and the overall picture of strength masks a slow down in areas of lower household income.

Alongside the reports of increased market activity however, are the predictions of a downturn next year as the stamp duty holiday effect wanes and we see the economic effects of the second wave of the pandemic this winter.
But let’s remain positive -there is a high volume of unfinished transactions in the pipeline and these should reach completion before the March 31st deadline to qualify for stamp duty exemption. Peace of mind is a valuable commodity in these times, and if your house sale or purchase is being held up because of structural concerns, please get in touch with SER for expert advice delivered efficiently just when its needed.