House prices: How much your house could be worth now - is it time to sell?
12-21-2021
New data recorded by Rightmove has shown that the typical asking price for a home has dropped significantly compared with last month.
The recorded dip represents a 0.7 percent decrease in the value of homes on the property market.
Newly listed properties have been advertised for an average of £340,167, which is £2,234 less than those listed in November, said Rightmove
Homes for sale in the South West region of the UK saw the biggest dip in asking prices since November, while the West Midlands saw the largest increase.
by Taboola
Couple signing house contract/ house illustration/ for sale sign
House prices: How much your house could be worth now - is it time to sell? (Image: GETTY)
Woman looks at phone, houses illustrated around her
House prices: 2022 could see an initial drop in the market which will pick up during the spring (Image: GETTY)
Nathan Emerson, Propertymark CEO told Express.co.uk: “Propertymark figures show a shift from an eight year-long buyers’ market into the strong sellers’ market we are seeing now.
“Since 2013 the majority of homes have sold for less than asking price, but the last year has shown a significant shift with homes now predominantly selling for asking price or over.
“Whilst buyer demand is expected to follow usual seasonal trends and take a dip over the festive period, agents are not seeing any signs that demand will slow in 2022.”
Despite average asking prices falling month-on-month, overall house prices remain higher by 6.3 percent compared to December 2020.
Houses for sale and sold signs
House prices: House prices have dropped month on month but are still higher than December 2020 (Image: PA)
Will house prices drop in 2022?
While the market has certainly started to slow as we edge further into the winter months, hopes that the market will pick up again in spring 2022 are not far-fetched.
Data published by Rightmove which shows the monthly percentage change in average asking prices illustrates a significant dip in prices in December 2020 and January 2021.
While August 2021 saw a dip of 0.3 percent in house prices, the rest of 2021 saw nothing but increases, with the exception of:
December 2020 (-0.6 percent)
January 2021 (-0.9 percent)
November 2021 (-0.6 percent)
December 2021 (-0.7 percent)
If the market follows this same trend in 2022, house prices could begin to rise again by February next year - but Rightmove said it won’t be to the same level we have seen over the past year.
Map of most affordable places to buy a house in the UK
House prices: How much your house could be worth now - is it time to sell? (Image: THE EXPRESS)
Regarding the latest Rightmove house price index, Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Data, commented: “The kind of frenzied market we’ve seen in the last 18 months happens only a few times in most home-owners’ buying and selling lifetimes, exacerbated by the even rarer event of a global pandemic pushing homes higher up most people’s priorities.
“A return to a less frenetic market due to more choice, and forecast slightly higher interest rates, will suit many movers who have held back during the last 18 hectic months.”
While a rise in interest rates could make remortgaging more expensive for some home-owners, the predicted increase is predicted to have a welcome impact on the UK’s chaotic property market.
Tim added: “While a rise is often regarded as unhelpful to the market, a slowing of the fast pace of sales, and associated pace of price rises, will help the return to more normality that will suit many movers.”
Is now a good time to sell your house?
With an all-time low for houses going to market this month, there are slim pickings for those who have secured a buyer but are yet to secure their own new home.
Rightmove revealed that the number of homes listed for sale per estate agent branch fell to just 14 per branch, compared with 28 in December 2020.
Putting off your house sale until the new year could see your sale price increase by an average of five percent compared to current rates, said Rightmove, which has already seen an increase in the number of home-owners contemplating a sale in 2022.
Rightmove Director, Tim said: “With a jump in the number of owners requesting valuations from agents with a view to marketing their homes, it looks like many of this group are now gearing up to make it a new year resolution to move, so more buyer choice could now be on the cards.”