Housing Market Trends 2022: What’s Happening to the Property Market Right Now?

Over the past year, the UK has seen tremendous growth in the housing market and positive housing market trends, which is good news for investors looking to diversify or begin building their property portfolios.

Prices are on the rise, which makes now the perfect time to invest to ensure a maximum return on your investment.

In this guide, we will look at some of the biggest housing market trends that you should know about for 2022, and identify predictions for the rest of the year.

In 2021, we found several key housing market trends emerge, which can be summarised as follows:

• The Guardian found that in 2021 the housing market had the fastest growth in 15 years, despite economic fears caused by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Rental demand skyrocketed over the course of the year, with our research showing an average of 8.9 days before a property is tenanted.
• Renters and buyers are looking for more space since the pandemic with the rise of remote working.
• Locations such as Slough and Luton became highly desirable areas for property development to meet the increased demand for rental properties.
• House prices in Luton rose by almost £10,000 between March and June, whereas rental prices stayed 217% lower than in London.
• Increasing housing demand also saw an increase in properties being constructed, as Gov.uk found that more than double the number of properties were completed in April to June 2021 compared to the same amount of time in 2020.
• However, this increase in suburb demand also caused London to suffer a slight regression, with rental prices falling by 6.8% compared to the previous year.

The positive housing market trends in 2021 have continued into this year, as housing market trends in 2022 also show large growth.

Higher demand for rental properties has seen an increase in rental prices, as well as housing prices in general.

As expected, the upheaval caused by Brexit and the pandemic is settling down, and we are now seeing increased growth as one of the biggest housing market trends in the UK.

Current trends in the housing market show that prices are rising across the UK. The Office of National Statistics reports that the average house price in the UK is £283,000, which is £32,000 higher than last year.

This is great news for investors as it means more people will be looking to rent in 2022, and with rental prices also on the rise, it suggests a higher return on your investment in the years to come.

Regional differences in growth are apparent. Housing market trends in the North West reveal that this region’s property prices are rising faster than in other areas of the UK.

Manchester has some of the highest rental yields in the UK due to its unrivalled market demand.

Studio apartments in Manchester have seen rental yields increase by around 10%, with record-high rental prices being recorded in January 2022.

Liverpool has also seen above-average growth, with housing market trends in 2022 showing rental prices will increase by 3%.

Current trends in the Liverpool housing market are showing positive growth due to the city’s young population and the massive amounts of regeneration coming into the city.

The student population of Liverpool is also rising, with Edurank estimating there were over 57,000 students admitted to the city’s four universities this past year. Student property investment is a positive trend in Liverpool’s housing market and will continue to be so in the future.

Other areas in the UK are also experiencing similar growth as a key housing market trend.

Around 40% of Birmingham’s population is under 25, and it is estimated that the city will need 4000 new homes a year for the next decade to keep up with the demand for housing that the city is experiencing.

This means that the housing market in Birmingham is growing fast, making 2022 an ideal time to consider investing in the area.

Similar to 2021’s housing market trends, London has been left behind. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic decimating the city’s economy, the housing market trends in London indicate that investing here may be unwise in 2022.

Instead, investors are looking at buying property in England’s capital should look to invest in nearby commuter towns such as Luton and Slough, where property prices are more affordable, and rental yields are higher.

Rental prices have fallen by 13.13% in the past year, and although London’s economy is slowly recovering, it will continue to lag behind the rest of the UK housing trends in 2022.

With this information about the housing market trends in 2022, we can safely predict further growth of the UK housing market in 2023 and beyond.

With the UK moving past Brexit and COVID-19, the potential for positive housing market trends is even greater than what we have seen until now.

In the North-West, Savills predicts an average growth of 18.4% for housing prices by 2026, which ranks in the top region in the nation compared to the national average of 13.1%.

Areas like Manchester are expected to benefit the most from this expected growth, with rental prices expected to rise by 4%. This takes the top spot for the nation, with cities like Leeds and Liverpool close behind.

Other areas of the North-West are also expected to benefit from this expected growth. Liverpool has seen a price growth of 32% over the past five years, and it is unlikely this growth will slow.

With a combination of a young population and the introduction of energy-saving eco-properties that can help reduce costs for bills, Liverpool is expected to see rental price growth of around 3%.

London’s economy is recovering at a faster rate since the effects of COVID-19 than the rest of the UK, according to The Guardian. This is good news for UK housing market trends as a whole.

Birmingham is also undergoing growth that is expected to continue. With one of the largest supply and demand imbalances in Europe, positive housing market trends will continue with the constant need for new builds over the next decade.

With the government’s commitment to building up to 180,000 affordable new homes annually, the current trend in the housing market will likely continue along a similar trajectory.

More new builds are being constructed over the next few years to meet the rising demand for properties.

This positive trend in the housing market is ideal for investors as it will ensure a highly profitable return on your investment, making now a great time to invest in buy-to-let properties.

If you would like to see what properties we currently have available, you can learn more by viewing our current UK investment opportunities.