June sees surge in valuation activity in UK residential markets

Strong market growth in the UK has resulted in a surge in residential property valuations in June with activity up 23% year on year, the latest data shows.

June’s activity total was also up 42% month on month with valuations for established owner occupiers moving home were especially strong, up 34% in June compared with the same month in 2014 and 51% compared to May.

Home movers in particular are showing a very different sentiment to that seen in April and at the start of May and demand is growing faster than the overall market trend and even outperforming the buy to let sector, according to the report from Connells Survey & Valuation.

The data also shows that valuations in June for first time buyers saw annual growth of 16% compared to the same month last year, while also registering a 42% uptick on last month’s total.

Meanwhile, the number of valuations for the buy to let market rose 24% compared with June 2014 and 22% compared to May 2015. And the number of valuations for those remortgaging their property rose 17% in June compared to the same month in 2014, on the back of 44% month on month growth.
 
‘First time buyers haven’t benefitted from higher house prices in the same way as those already on the property ladder. An era defining shortage of suitable first time homes, combined with still rapid rises in average prices are keeping many would be home owners renting for the time being. Yet despite this, numbers of valuations for new buyers have shown double digit growth,’ said John Bagshaw, the firm’s corporate services director.
 
He pointed out that remortgaging still lags behind most other sectors in terms of yearly growth. ‘This could also be a sign that the numbers remortgaging to access a better mortgage rate may have reached a plateau,’ he added.