Hometrack: City price growth hits 2 year high as demand soars
Michael Stone, founder and CEO of new build housing specialists Stone Real Estate, commented:
“Our larger urban hubs and cities are often the first areas of the market to show signs of decline but the same also applies when it comes to a recovery, with these areas acting as the driving force behind a market turnaround. This seems evident, with the latest data suggesting that the floodgates of buyer demand opened prior to Christmas and immediately after the election, with a rejuvenated level of sentiment spreading across the UK’s major cities and beyond thereafter bringing some pretty drastic rates of price growth with it.
Of course, cities to the north with a more affordable price tag are naturally going to attract higher levels of buyer demand right off the bat, however, perhaps the most telling sign of the changing tides is London’s almost immediate acceleration in growth.
The capital had been propping up the table for months on end with negative movement in prices but even the suggestion of increased market stability has seen it climb the ranks, with many sellers and buyers moving like the clappers to proceed with a sale or purchase after months of hesitation.
This is no doubt a trend that will persist and as a result, the coming year should bring a far more buoyant picture than we’ve been used to both where transactions and price growth are concerned.”
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