E.surv: annual price growth up to 12.2%

E.surv has reported that annual price growth increases to 12.2% in England & Wales.

It said that the higher increase in rate reflects the low annual comparison points in July and August 2021.

Meanwhile, eight regions recorded growth increases of more than 10.0%, while London continues to have the lowest price growth of all 10 GOR areas.

E.surv said the average house price is now £371,208, up 0.7% on July.

Richard Sexton, director at e.surv, said: “Despite recent anecdotal comments to the contrary, objectively at this time, our data records a resilient UK housing market – largely due to the continuing lack of supply of desirable stock and continued demand for it.

“There are some considerations to bear in mind. It is likely that, with the current extended completion times in the market, many of the transactions reported were agreed four or five months ago. Therefore, while the headlines show that the market remains resilient, we should acknowledge that some of the current affordability issues facing homeowners may not be reflected in the data yet.

“It remains to be seen what effect that has on subsequent data and we should also consider the potential positive impact of any new support to address the cost-of-living crisis from the new government. Home-buying is a market built on sentiment and what happens next will fundamentally affect that.

“For this month, it is worth recognising that, notwithstanding the pressure already in the market, all 10 GOR areas have experienced rising prices over the last 12 months, with nine of the 10 areas setting new record average house prices in July 2022. Annual price growth has increased across England and Wales to 12.2%.

“As work habits continue to evolve and people settle into new ways of living and working, this continues to impact what people buy. We think the hybrid method of working from home for most of the week, is driving a revived interest in flats in the central areas of cities like London, which of course changes the mix of properties and values reflected in the index. How this plays out over time remains to be seen as many large companies have publicly already reverted to full-time office work.”

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