Home sales set to hit highest level since 2007
The housing market is set to hit the highest level of sales since 2007, with 1.5m sales forecast for 2021.
According to the Zoopla September House Price Index (HPI), combined market activity is set to amount to £473bn in transaction values this year. This is a £95bn hike on 2020.
House price growth is currently at 2.3 per cent in London, markedly below the UK average of 6.6 per cent.
Zoopla said recent data signals house price growth has now peaked and the growth rate for newly agreed sales is lower
UK house price growth is expected to slow to three per cent with 1.2m sales in 2022
Growth will be greatest in the North West and East Midlands (four per cent) and weakest in London at two per cent over the next year.
In a forecast for the end of the year, demand is expected to surpass levels recorded at the end of 2020 and set to continue into 2022.
Richard Donnell, Zoopla, said: “The impact of the pandemic on the housing market has further to run but at a less frenetic pace. We expect the momentum in the market to outweigh some emerging headwinds from higher living costs and the risk of higher mortgage rates.
“The latest data shows a turning point in the rate of house price growth, which we expect to slow quickly with average UK house prices up three per cent by the end of 2022.”