There was a 2.6% house price rise between September 2019 and September 2020, according to Zoopla – 1% higher than a year ago.
Due to the current economic climate and borrowing ability, lenders are less inclined to offer 90% mortgages, so first-time buyer numbers are depleting because they are having to source bigger deposits. The price rise is being fuelled instead by home movers and other buyer types.
Lockdown has also played a part. Many people have re-evaluated what they require from their homes: more space, change of location, and different working patterns have created new property preferences, with cheaper house prices away from London playing a major role.
North and North West in high demand
House prices in the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber and Wales rose 3.3% over the past year on average. Zoopla’s index also shows cities enjoying exceptionally strong growth and demand.
Nottingham sits at the top with an average 4.7% increase in values since last September, based on analysis of sold prices, mortgage valuations and data for agreed sales.
Manchester follows closely behind with house price inflation of 4.2%. Leeds is next with 3.9%, followed by Edinburgh (3.7%), Leicester (3.6%) and Liverpool (3.4%). In recent years, long before the current change in conditions, housing sectors in these cities had been strengthening due to developments in the economy and job markets, causing more people and businesses to relocate there. This has then supported growth and investment in property.
According to Zoopla, the Stamp Duty holiday (8 July 2020 until 31 March 2021) could incentivise would-be homebuyers who may have been holding off, so the upward price trends could stay for the coming months.