Fuelled by the cheapest mortgages for 40 years, Bradford & Bingley saw UK housing market activity follow the normal seasonal fluctuations, with prices rising overall by an average of 10 per cent during the year.
Bradford & Bingley’s 2001 Housing Market Review reveals that while the residential property market did take a hit in the aftermath of September 11, within two months it had bounced back to normal levels.
Another finding of the report is that there has been a significant increase in the number of investors buying to let, with many viewing property as a safer bet than shares in a volatile stock market.
2001 – a snapshot:
While nationally homes took an average of ten weeks to sell at the beginning of the year, by November 2001 this had reduced to just eight weeks.
At the start of 2001 there were, on average, eight buyers chasing every home for sale. As the year draws to a close the number of buyers outweighs sellers by 6:1.
The percentage of asking price achieved increased slightly over the course of the year, starting at 96 per cent and rising to 97 per cent by November. This demonstrates that while the market is demand led, people are not prepared to pay unrealistic prices.
On average, people viewed properties ten times before making the decision to buy.
Nationally, the number of first-time buyers – essential to a healthy property market – increased by five per cent year on year.
Looking forward to 2002, Bradford & Bingley expects house prices to continue to rise, although the likely increase will, on average, be a more modest 3 to 5 per cent. But, stresses Peter Barrett, managing director of The MarketPlace at Bradford & Bingley, "We are confident that we will not see a widespread falling back of value. In fact, with sellers remaining realistic about asking prices, our view is that it remains a good time to enter the housing market."
