Zoopla: £149bn worth of homes sold in the first 15 weeks of 2021

The UK housing market has recorded £149bn worth of property sales in the first 15 weeks of 2021, according to Zoopla’s monthly House Price Index.

This equates to almost double the value of homes sold in the same period in 2020 and 2019.

Despite this, the total number of homes available to buy is down nearly 30% in the first half of April compared to average levels in the same period during 2017-19.

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As well as this, the total number of homes listed for sale in the year to date is 19% lower than average levels recorded in 2020.

Glasgow, Bristol, Nottingham, Stoke, and Middlesbrough are the top five busiest sales markets in the UK.

House price growth tracked at 4% in March of this year, down from 4.5% recorded in January of this year.

While this indicates a slight softening in pace of growth, house prices remain almost double the 2.1% growth recorded in March 2020, upheld by lack of supply coming to market.

Meanwhile, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Nottingham and Leicester are each registering house price growth in excess of 5% year-on-year.

Three and four-bedroom houses have recorded the biggest annual drop in supply.

Listings of four-bedroom homes for sale are down year-on-year across the UK by 58% in Scotland, 44% in the South West, 42% in the North West, and 40% in the South East.

Listings for three-bedroom and four-bedroom houses have reached a five-year low, with one of the busiest markets for a decade failing to replenish supply.

All regions across the UK have witnessed at least a 20% fall in the availability of family homes for sale.

Buyer demand is currently up 27% in the year to date compared to the average levels in 2020, despite the acceleration of demand recorded during the pandemic.

David Ross, managing director of Hometrack, said: “Behavioural changes associated with the easing of lockdown – children returning to school, people getting more comfortable having buyers view their homes – has led to an increase in the number of family homes being listed for sale.

“But, it’s not enough to match the appetite in the market for extra space. Houses currently make up 59% of properties listed – that’s down from 76% in 2017.

“The resurgence of first-time buyers, using 95% LTV mortgage guarantee products, is further constraining available supply. All of this continues to support price growth in the short term.

“Though it has moderated slightly this month, it’s still the fifth month in a row that annual growth figures have sat at 4.0% or above.”