Why Property Prices are Still Rising

Revealed – why prices are still rising and why this is good news for sellers

Hoping to sell your house quickly for a good price? Well, a thorough understanding of average house prices in the current market and when to list your property is necessary to achieve this. Various factors including interest rates, supply and demand, and the health of the economy influence house prices. The fact that, despite being three months into the year and various challenges ranging from soaring inflation to war in Ukraine and Covid, house prices are still rising is great news for sellers, and here’s why.

Spring – a popular time of year to buy

According to Rightmove, March is one of the most popular months to list a property on the market.  Research shows that for the past five years (excluding 2020), March is the month with the most buyers searching for properties to purchase.  As a result, sellers are not only likely to sell their home quickly during the start of spring, but because the demand is there, it is likely to go for a reasonable price too.

As daylight lingers for longer and people prepare for the summer months ahead, we can expect high property prices to be sustained.

Covid continues to make the market more competitive 

While Covid-19 remains thoroughly unwelcome, it has had a positive impact on the price of homes for sale in the market. This is mainly driven by the impact the virus has had on property supply and demand levels.

Rightmove claim that in Britain the average price of homes coming to market has risen by £7,785. This means that the average price of a home in Britain is a record high of £348,804.  How many homes there are available to buy can impact how competitive the market is. As a result of Covid restrictions, people’s priorities have changed.  For example, people have sought homes with more indoor space as they swapped working in the office for working from home. There also seemed to be a trend to look for properties that are further from the city.  As a result, buyer demand has increased well above supply and caused a shortage of available properties, in turn making the market more competitive than ever.

Fear of missing out on buying a property

FOMO – Fear of Missing Out.  Another factor driving demand is buyer behaviour patterns. While buyer demand drives prices, so do their emotions.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, explains that: “A fear of missing out on one’s dream home is really driving market behaviour at the moment, as movers look to do all that they can to avoid the disappointment of being too slow to secure their ideal property.”

The lack of available properties largely drives this fear. Because of this people are willing to pay more for a home to have the security of owning it during these uncertain times.

With the weather in the UK heating up and the days getting longer, prospective buyers are likely to pay more and not want to miss out on a property in a seaside town. Meanwhile, if you’re hoping to sell your seaside home, now could be the right time.  March, April and May are the three best months of the year to sell, according to Rightmove’s recent findings.

Spring has often been seen as the best time to sell a home, and 2022 looks set to be no different.

Here at Callaways Estate Agents, we will do all we can to help you complete a smooth house sale. We operate across the South Coast, including in Falmer, Worthing and Brighton & Hove, and have the experience and know-how of the local area to help you set the right price and attract the best kind of buyers.

For more info about what we can offer, please get in touch with us today. You can also get a free, instant online valuation of your home, to give you an idea of how much it could cost, by clicking here