What Happened to UK Property Prices in January 2022?

House Prices Rise by 7.6% 

New data from Rightmove has revealed that UK house prices have increased by 7.6% compared to January 2021. 

This is the highest annual rate of growth recorded by Rightmove since May 2016. 

According to Rightmove, the average price of property coming to market is now £341,019 – 0.3% higher than December 2021. 

Now: 

The prices of properties are increasing across the board, with first-time buyer asking prices hitting a new high of £214,176 – a 1.4% rise since December. 

Official data from the Land Registry supports these claims, with the ONS releasing its house price data for November 2021. 

They’ve found that November 2021 prices are a whopping 10.01% higher than 12 months prior and currently sit at an average value of £270,708 – over £3k higher than October. 

Buyer Frenzy Continues 

In Rightmove’s latest house price index report, the property company found that January 2022 is the busiest start to a new year. 

They found that the number of buyers enquiring for homes is 15% higher than in January 2021. 

The number of available homes per estate agency is now just 12 – a new record low. 

Due to the rising demand and shortage of properties, competition among buyers is twice as high as in January 2021. 

It’s not all bad news, though: 

Rightmove believes that there are early signs that more properties are about to hit the market, with the number of home valuation requests 44% higher than 12 months ago.  

Rent Also Increasing

Alongside rising house prices, rental values are also increasing in January 2022. 

According to the Homelet Rental Index, the average UK rent is now a record high of £1,064 – 8.5% higher than last year. 

Every region has seen rent increases in January 2022, with London and the North West seeing rental values rise by 12.6% and 10.3%, respectively.  

Of course, the rising rental figures are good news for landlords, with average rental yields surging across the UK, with the likes of Manchester and Liverpool offering returns of over 7% on average. 

The North West, in general, is quickly becoming the ideal spot to invest, and it’s also one of the more affordable locations for renters and homebuyers. 

Research from Benham and Reeves revealed that the North West offers the UK’s best value rental costs, with North West renters spending 58% of their monthly income on rental prices compared to 73% in the South West.