According to the figures, the number of sales agreed was up by 17.8% which is the highest at this time of year since 2016. The Rightmove data also revealed that properties are selling an average of 6% faster nationally, and 18% more quickly in London.
The 1% rise in March has also pushed up the annual rate of price growth to the highest levels since December 2016.
Miles Shipside, director and housing market analyst at Rightmove, comments: “The average asking prices of over 110,000 properties that have come to market this month are at a record high as we enter the traditionally busy spring moving season.
“As a result, we are measuring the highest annual rate of increase since December 2016.
“Many more properties are being bought and bought more quickly than at this time last year. This is further fuelling the existing shortage of property available for sale, driving up prices to a new record high. New supply to the market has failed to keep anything close to the pace of demand.
“Purchasers in a position to buy have been snapping up what’s currently on the market, rather than waiting for the usual post-Easter flurry of fresh supply. There are marginally more owners putting their properties on the market compared to this time last year, but it is usual for sellers to want to wait for another month or two until there are more leaves on the trees to soften the starkness of their photographs and harden up their pricing prospects.”
Shipside added: “The market has been waiting for several years for a window of certainty, and 2020 seemed set to be the year when many would look to make a move and satisfy their pent-up housing needs.
“However, the current fast pace of the housing market could now be temporarily affected by the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. We expect that housing market statistics, like other economic indicators, could be prone to volatility over the Spring and Summer.
However the market fundamentals are still very sound, hence the current surge in activity, which has included Rightmove’s five busiest days ever. There have been no signs so far of a drop in buyer activity or interest in the housing market.”
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, says: "Rightmove’s pre-virus asking prices rose to record territory last month fuelled by classic strong demand and disappointing supply, complemented by a huge uplift in ‘sales agreed’s.
"This is yet another housing survey showing what might have been had the virus not struck so quickly but there is hope for the near-term market once the worst effects are behind us, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. Certainly, our offices have only seen a few cancelled sales and listing instructions so far but viewings are down significantly as buyers and sellers pause to see what ‘temporary impact’ is likely to mean for their moving plans."
