houses hit record asking prices in 2021

Asking prices in every region across Great Britain hit record levels in 2021 according to figures just released by Rightmove.

They say that the sustained high demand and a shortage of properties coming to market has been a key driver in the surge in prices. In the Yorkshire and Humber region alone asking prices increased by over 6 per cent.

The leading property portal also says that 7 in 10 homes advertised on its platform in 2021 have been marked ‘sold subject to contract’ which compares to just 2 in 10 in 2012.

Ben Furnell of Furnell Residential said: “The Rightmove figures certainly reflect our own interpretation of the market in 2021. We saw our own listings increase by nearly 2 per cent year on year and sales agreed up 1.6 per cent.

“The majority of properties sold quickly and many for over the asking price which supports the view of demand out stripping supply.”

Meanwhile Rightmove has also reported that visits to its web site and apps over the Christmas period were its busiest ever, up 23 per cent year on year. It also claims that prospective sellers jumped into action on December 30th, its busiest day since May 2021 for people requesting valuations, making it one of the top 10 busiest days for valuation requests ever.

Ben said: “We have also had a hectic start to the new year which suggests moving house is a key resolution for people this year. We booked 60 viewings for a newly listed property in just one day and in the first three working days of January we have already booked 50 per cent more viewings that we did in the whole of December.”

Furnell Residential is a family run business primarily covering Bardsey, Wetherby, Collingham, Scarcroft, East Keswick, Boston Spa, Harewood, Clifford and parts of Harrogate.