Biggest ever monthly price jump sets new record high as movers fear missing out.
February picks up where January left off, as the second month of the year proves to be even stronger than the first.
The price of property coming to market increased by 2.3% in February, equating to £7,785, according to Rightmove’s latest House Price Index.
The hike marks the biggest monthly jump in pounds the property portal has recorded in its 20 years of data-gathering. It also brings the average asking price of a UK property to a staggering £348,804.
While the number of new property listings increased by 11% during the month, the number of people looking to buy a property rose by 16%, the website said.
“This new record means that average asking prices have now risen by nearly £40,000 in the two years since the pandemic started, compared to just over £9,000 in the previous two years,” a spokesperson said.
The figures show a widening gap between the number of buyers and sellers that property experts say will maintain house price inflation this year well above annual salary increases.
London, which has been lagging behind the rest of the UK in terms of price rises, recorded the biggest jump in buyer enquiries at 24% higher than last February.
Tim Bannister, director of property data at Rightmove, said: “The data suggests that people are by no means done with their pandemic-driven moves. Such a significant societal event means that even two years on from the start of the pandemic, people are continuing to re-consider their priorities and where they want to live. As the final legal restrictions look to be ending soon, and more businesses are encouraging a return to the office for at least part of the week, we now have a group of movers who are looking to return closer to major cities, or at least within comfortable commuting distance of their workplaces.”
He added that ‘second steppers’ looking for more space than their first home offers, were also fuelling the market.
