UK property market enjoys boom amid COVID-19 led Pandemic

Prices are increasing and so is the interest…

Though the tax break is partially over in England and Northern Ireland, yet the property market continued to thrive. There was no dip in interest in investors and asset prices are also increasing such as, UK house prices rose by almost £5,000 in August only. It was expected that there will be ease after the threshold for paying stamp duty was lowered from £500,000 to £250,000 in July, the property inflation rose to 11% compared to the previous month’s value at 10.5%.

Lack of properties play a significant role…

Some factors are contributing to this house price inflation such as a lack of properties for sale in UK and buyers are in rush to complete the transaction of all the homes worth less than £250,000, before the stamp duty value reverts to its pre-crisis level in October 2021. Every factor played its role in increasing the house price inflation such as to cater to the serious buyers’ needs, banks lowered down the interest rates, while the demand for larger homes was already increased along with the tax incentive was offered by the Chancellor. Resultantly, the house prices are up by 13% as compared to pre-crisis values – with smaller breaks in the year 2020 due to nationwide lockdown.

If records are to be believed, hard-to-sell homes are being snapped up in days only after being put on the market, especially in the areas of high demand, which is proving all the house price crash predictions off the mark. Though there was a pause in the UK property market’s activity scale during the first lockdown early last year, yet the pause did not last for long. With the sales barely slowing down, one thing is clear that with small amendments and the inclusion of technology, the UK property market has emerged victorious and one of the most stable and profit-making investment vehicles.

Property prices will rise further…

Seeing the on-going price trend and a lack of quality houses for sale in the UK, experts are of opinion that property prices are expected to stay on the upside. There can be a temporary pause after the tax break is completely over but both banks and local real estate agents are convinced that the property prices will remain higher for a long time yet.

The areas that are growing are expected to grow exponentially in foreseeable future, because the UK property market has been growing overall throughout 2020 and 2021, following the initial lockdown. The Greater Manchester borough is the fastest-growing sector in entire Britain and Stockport has been named as one of the most visited boroughs.

What does expert say?

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “The bounce-back in August is surprising because it seemed more likely that the tapering of stamp duty relief in England at the end of June would take some of the heat out of the market.” The activity may reflect the strong demand from buyers looking for properties between £125,000 and £250,000, who are actively following the lead to complete the transaction with the stamp duty relief before it comes to an end – coupled with lower properties on the market.

Buyers can expect a continuous increase in property prices in the short-term because of an ease in international travelling, investors’ confidence in the UK property market and lower supply of properties.

Bottom line:

Therefore, several experts are adamant that the property market would inevitably slow down, when the stamp duty holiday gets over at the end of the month. The property market has proved to be resilient and performed well throughout the pandemic till yet – so the claims can turn out wide of the mark. At Copperstones, we are hopeful for a better and positive future of the UK property market and we can claim this based on the number of queries, we receive regarding the properties in UK.