House Price Increase in February

UK House Price

In February, one of the biggest developments in house prices was seen. Halifax claimed there had been a record jump in the price since 1983, with more than £13,000 added to the house price in the 28 days of the month.  
 
The gain was reported in contradiction to the reports of a slowdown in the real estate markets around Brexit, as a 3 per cent fall in price was registered in January. 
 
The reports state Feb was one of the busiest where, on average, a 5.9 per cent hike was seen in price (from £223,629 to £236,800), when the price grew by £470 each day. The rise altered the annual rate to 2.8 per cent, suppressed from 2015- 2016.
 
One of the key factors for the improvement was the shortage of homes and the lack of affordability that continues to create a problem. Further, buyers are facing challenges over the increase in the deposit. 
 
The number of households in emergency accommodations grew 60% in 2017 to 77,240, compared to March 2011. The median price for residential homes grew 259 per cent between 1997 and 2016, and the median individual annual earnings grew 68 per cent. 

2018 Trends in UK Markets 

The HMRC data suggest the number of first-time home buyers were most active in 2018 that were mostly encouraged by the government schemes, improvement in job outlooks and competitive lending rates. 

Most first-time buyers were buying in regional housing markets where the cost of shifting from renting to buying a home was attainable– as per the Zoopla reports. 

Last year the number of young adults living with their parents increased, where 37 per cent were men aged 18 to 34 living with parents, and 26 per cent were women in the same age group. 

Rents rose, even though the rate of the mortgage was falling. As a result, the rent from the councils and housing associations increased. The reports from the Residential Landlords Association claim affordability for private renting increased. Still, the expected change in tax and enhanced risk of affordability turned away pre-existing buyers from advancing in the let-in markets. 

A survey by Zoopla suggested that new buyers were aware of their choice of housing investments. A survey of 6000 people shows that 31 per cent exactly knew the street and house they wanted to live in. 

About 27 per cent of the surveyed said they were not in the market, and the website found many buyers adopted the 'wait and see' strategy to get the best from the investment. 

Savills reported UK real estate performed better than many other global asset classes, where the industrial asset class offered 17.4 per cent returns in the last 12 months. Alternatives and mixed-use assets accounted for 29 per cent of the investment in 2018, where positive news from the industrial sector promoted growth. 

The reports by Savills on 26th February suggested that 50 per cent of the buyers who sold in 2018 in England and Wales had bought the property in the past 15 years, where they earned an average of £73,127 on average for their investment.

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