Property Asking Prices At Record Highs - Enness in Express

Confidence remains strong across many parts of the UK as home movers continue to press ahead with their plans. However, the current backlog of property transactions could mean that many buyers fail to complete their purchases before the end of the Stamp Duty Holiday.

Figures from property search portal Rightmove pointed to new record highs in asking prices, which were, on average, 5.5% higher than at the same time a year earlier. At the beginning of October, the average asking price stood at £323,530, an increase of 1.1% from £319,996 in September. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that these are asking prices rather than completed sale prices.

Nonetheless, Rightmove forecast that annual house price growth could reach a peak of 7% by December.

That is positive news if you are selling a property.

The potentially less positive news is that a significant processing backlog has developed as property lawyers, mortgage lenders and surveyors work to clear what was believed to be more than 300,000 property transactions placed on hold during lockdown, alongside the “mini-boom” in agreed sales following the announcement of the Stamp Duty Holiday in July.

As a result, buyers having offers accepted from this point onwards could find that they do not complete their purchase before the end of March 2021.

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