The number of new buyers has surged by 29.6% since last February and is up 6.4% on the month. However the supply of new homes has been unable to keep apace and has only increased 6.7% annually, meaning there are still nearly 15 buyers chasing every property to come onto the market.
Viewings are up 9.4% on the month as people look to move in spring. Sales shrunk by 8.2% over the same time period, however this trend is likely to reverse in the coming months as the growing interest from potential buyers comes to fruition.
First-time buyer house prices rose 9.8% annually and 0.8% on the month to reach £176,281, a record high for the sixth month in a row.
|
National |
February 2016 |
% change since January 2016 |
% change since February 2015 |
|
Ave UK house prices £ (SSTC) |
|
-5.3 |
4.1 |
|
Ave FTB house prices £ (SSTC) |
£176,281 |
0.8 |
9.8 |
|
London house prices £ (SSTC) |
£544,430 |
-1.3 |
19.3 |
|
House sales (exchange) |
46,153 |
-8.2 |
-7.8 |
|
Ratio of new buyer demand to property supply |
14.9 |
-2.7 |
21.5 |
The average property price in London has increased by 19.3% annually but dipped 1.3% on the month to an average of £544,430.
However activity in the London market started to heat up in February with the number of new buyers registering up 13% annually and 6.4% on the month. Meanwhile the number of new properties for sale rose by 6.7% in the year. The number of firsttime buyers surged 9.1% on the month and 4.9% annually in London.
Paul Smith, CEO of haart, had this to say: “First-time buyers flooded the market in February, with the number of registrations up a huge 22.7% on last year and up 7.6% since January, the highest monthly increase in nearly a year. However as demand from first-time buyers has increased, so have prices, with starter homes reaching a record high for the sixth month in a row. First-time buyers paid an average of £176,281 in February, which is a 9.8% annual increase, or nearly £16,000 in just one year.
The buy-to-let market began to cool in February as most landlords sought to finalise their purchase before March, allowing time to complete before the April deadline for new rules on stamp duty. However despite the temporary lull in the buy-to-let market, there is no reprieve for first-time buyers, who are still facing intense competition for properties. A shortage of new homes coming on to the market is still making their property search difficult, and today’s data shows that competition for properties will only increase as we enter spring, which is one of the most popular times to buy a new home.”
