This takes the average asking price to £279,004 and the annual price growth to 6.6% but this is down from 8.2% in January.
The report says that there is an increasing demand for property and overall there has been a 31% increase in housing transactions in last two years in England and Wales, outstripping the 11% rise in the number of properties coming to the market in same period.
The result is that demand is outstripping supply and some agents are reporting their lowest ever stock of quality property for sale. Indeed, there has been a 4% fall in new seller numbers compared to same period in 2014.
‘We’re now over a month into 2015, and despite predictions that the upcoming May election could slow home mover interest, Rightmove has recorded its busiest ever month for traffic and leads to agents,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst.
He pointed out that decades of inadequate provision of homes to satisfy growth in demand are having an increasing effect, with a tight stock market resulting in a shortage of quality property for sale to trade up to.
‘For the right property at the right price, demand is outstripping supply and leading to some further upwards price pressure. However there is a limit to what the majority are willing or can afford to pay, especially with the tighter lending criteria,’ he explained.
‘In locations where there is a tight stock market some different tactics are required for a successful move as competition gets fiercer for quality homes as demand increases,’ he added.
Housing demand is at a record high with visits to Rightmove hitting over 100 million in January for the first time ever and home hunters looking through a record 1.5 billion pages of property. New record busiest ever days were set on Sunday 25th and Monday 26th of January.
The report also says that email and phone enquiries by home hunters to agents on Rightmove hit 4.3 million for the first time, equating to around 100 enquiries every minute.
‘Quality stock is in short supply in some locations, which is unsurprising given the structural under supply of homes and the recovery from the economic downturn,’ said Shipside.
Indeed, Rightmove statistics show that the average available stock for sale per estate agency branch for the last two months at 57 and 58 properties has never been lower at the beginning of a year. New seller numbers this month are also 4% below those recorded in the same period in 2014.
‘Many who are contemplating moving will have noticed a lack of suitable property for sale in their area, and may be hoping that it’s a temporary shortage. What they may not fully appreciate is that this is the new norm, and is the consequence of over 20 years of not enough homes being built to meet the burgeoning growth in household numbers, resulting in a lack of quality homes for sale in many popular areas of the UK,’ said Shipside.
He also pointed out that lower owner occupation levels, down from a peak of 71% in 2003 to 65% in the latest figures, means that this shrinking sector has less ability to meet the housing needs of those looking to get onto or trade up and down the property ladder.
This is exacerbated by the massive growth of the buy to let investor sector, up by 2.6 million homes since 1996. Buy to let investors’ long term investment strategy means they typically do not sell as frequently as owner occupiers, resulting in reduced supply and choice for owner occupier buyers in lower price sectors.
‘More property could be effectively removed from the market when the buy to let sector sees a further boost from April, as agents are already reporting preliminary enquiries from retirees planning to cash in their pension pots and invest in buy to let properties to secure a steady inflation proof retirement income,’ said Shipside.
Agents also report a reluctance amongst owner occupiers to put their property up for sale, as they can see little suitable to buy. ‘Given that this is the likely shape of the market now and in the future, home-owners need to get their tactics right for a successful tight stock market move if those are the conditions in the area where they wish to buy,’ added Shipside,
‘This might seem like an ideal time to sell with stock for sale being tight, but if you are moving up, down or sideways on the property ladder it also means it could be much harder to find your next property. While sellers might achieve a higher price, the property that they are buying is also likely to cost more,’ he explained.
‘Selling subject to contract before finding another property and having an offer accepted sounds concerning to most, but with less property to choose from, a home owner really needs to have a buyer for their own property or they will not be treated as a serious buyer themselves,’ he concluded.
