First quarter of 2021 to register record property sales
News Team | 26th November, 2020
The first quarter of 2021 is set to record a property uplift, with 100,000 additional sales expected to complete before the end of March. As buyers rush to beat the stamp duty deadline according to the latest findings by Zoopla, the UK’s leading property portal.
Since its summer peak, demand for housing has weakened, and has now fallen below pre-lockdown levels. Despite this dip, it remains 34% higher than this time last year. Demand recorded a sharp dip after the announcement of the latest national restrictions in England but it rebounded once the lockdown began.
Demand levels are set to hold firm for the remainder of the year, and the monthly sales completions estimate suggests the strongest December – and run up to Christmas – for over a decade, with a further demand spike in January 2021, as some buyers leave it late to enter the market in an attempt to beat the stamp duty deadline.
The boost to demand and sales volumes has culminated in house price growth approaching an almost three-year high of 3.5%, up from 1.2% a year ago, with 2020 expected to end with house price inflation reaching 4%. The scale of growth is explained in part by a shift in the mix of homes transacting, with more sales in wealthier demographics at higher prices.
Looking ahead, house prices are expected to grow by +1% by December 2021, when completed sales are expected to be in line with 2020 volumes. Without the strong Q1, sales would have been 9% lower as the economic impact slows the market.
