A jump in home prices and property sales in November ushered in the end of what was an “astonishing” year for the U.K. property market, according to data released Wednesday by the government’s Land Registry.
Home prices rose 10% annually in November and 1.2% from October, pushing the average price of property in the U.K. to £270,708 (US$368,838), the report said.
“Last year proved to be an astonishing year for the property market, with prices and demand defying expectations set by the pandemic in January,” Nick Leeming, chairman at estate agency Jackson-Stops, said in a statement. “Whilst today we see average house prices up slightly from those recorded in October, the figures still reflect lack of supply in the market.”
The estimated number of residential property transactions in November—excluding those with a value of less than £40,000—was 96,290, a more than 24% jump from the prior month.
However, the figure was also 16.4% lower than 12 months before.
The most significant price gains were recorded in the South West of England, a region that’s home to cities such as Bristol and Bath, where prices increased by 12.9% in the year to September.
The lowest appreciation was logged in London, where prices increased by 5.1% over the same time period. Despite the sluggish price growth, the city remains the U.K. most expensive market, where average prices clock in at just shy of £520,000, according to the report.
“Any fears that the end of the stamp duty holiday would bring about a decline in house price growth can now be well and truly put to bed,” James Forrester, managing director of the Birmingham-based estate agency Barrows and Forrester, said in a statement.
“Not only has the market maintained momentum, but it’s continued to shift through the gears during what is usually a quieter period in the year,” he added. “Expect more of the same in 2022, as demand remains robust, stock remains scarce and the cost of borrowing remains very affordable.”
The stamp duty holiday was a tax break introduced in the U.K. during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in July 2020, which scrapped the transfer tax on the first £500,000 of a home sale with savings of up to £15,000 available to buyers.
The holiday was gradually phased out and reverted back to the typical stamp duty system at the end of September 2021.
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