Monday 19 July 2021 8:19 am | Updated: Monday 19 July 2021 9:51 pm

House prices surge 5.7 per cent to reach another record high

Property prices have reached another record high, highlighting that demand in the housing market is still running hot, new figures released today reveal.

The average price of a property coming to market jumped 5.7 per cent annually to £338,447 in July, according to property search site Rightmove.

Prices rose 0.7 per cent over the last month, easing slightly from 0.8 per cent in June. Monthly price gains shows that demand is still running hot in the housing market despite July being the first month of the stamp duty holiday taper.

The price increase has been driven by a shortage in available properties as prospective buyers rushed to snap up houses before the stamp duty holiday tapered at the end of June.

Rightmove’s research showed demand for larger properties was high, illustrating that consumer preferences have switched toward favouring houses with more space and gardens.

Homes with four beds or more are facing the biggest supply and demand imbalance due to a 39 per cent increase in sales and a 15 per cent fall in numbers coming to market versus 2019, resulting in an average price hike of 6.7 per cent in the last six months.

Three bed sales saw a 28 per cent increase and a 10 per cent fall in new supply versus 2019, triggering a 6.9 per cent rise in prices.

Marc von Grundherr, director of estate agent Benham and Reeves, said: “The UK property market continues to defy expectation, with house prices reaching yet another record high despite whispers of a decline in values as a result of the tapered stamp duty holiday deadline.”

“There’s no doubt the stamp duty holiday has been the catalyst for this impressive market performance.”

Property sales to reach record high

Rightmove expects the volume of property purchases in the first half of the year to hit close to 800,000, topping the previous record high of 795,000 for this period set in 2007.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, said: “We predict that the number of completed sales will be the highest ever seen in a single month when June’s data is released.”

“This means it’s likely that the first half of 2021 has seen a record number of moves when compared with the first six months of any other year, induced by the pandemic’s side-effect of a new focus on what one’s home needs to provide.”