UK house prices increased in January at the fastest pace since 2016 with the highest ever number of Boxing Day sellers coming to the market and the surge in the number of prospective buyers enquiries, data from the property website Rightmove showed on Monday.
House prices grew 7.6 percent on a yearly basis in January, following a 6.3 percent rise in December. This was the highest annual rate of price growth recorded by Rightmove since May 2016.
On a monthly basis, house prices gained 0.3 percent in January, in contrast to the 0.7 percent fall in December.
Asking prices traditionally see a rise in January, though this month's figure is compared with an unusual drop in January last year as the rush to beat the March stamp duty deadline started to abate, the property website said.
Data showed that first-time buyer asking prices hit a new record of GBP 214,176 after a monthly jump of 1.4 percent.
The number of buyers enquiring about homes was 15 percent higher than the same time last year. At the same time, the number of available homes for sale per estate agency branch dropped again to a new record low of just 12.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove's Director of Property Data said, "It is clear that the trends which defined the market in 2021 have carried over into this year. That being said, we are seeing early signs of a better balanced market in 2022."
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