The estate agent said there were 1,263 house sales in December, an increase of 18.4% year-on-year and 13.9% from the month before.
A number of buyers and sellers decided they can’t put their lives on hold forever and returned to the housing market in December, haart estate agent claimed after launching its last research.
The estate agent said there were 1,263 house sales in December, an increase of 18.4% year-on-year and 13.9% from the month before.
What is more the number of applications in the first two weeks of January was up by 4% year-on-year, while the number of listings rose by almost 30%.
Paul Smith, chief executive of haart, said: “2018 was dictated by depressed market activity as would-be buyers and sellers took stock in uncertain times. But this has created huge pent-up demand in the market, and we saw buyers return to in the usually quiet final weeks of the year, despite ongoing Brexit drama.
“The Brexit negotiation period is being drawn out longer than we anticipated, but evidently, buyers are not prepared to put their lives on hold forever. Clearly – the market is starting to move on.
“In December we also saw a 17% jump in sales to landlords across England and Wales. This was matched by a 16% fall in sales to landlords in London. Savvy investors continue to head to pockets of the West and East Midlands, and the North West, where more favourable yields can be achieved.
“Aspiring landlords should remember that parts of the UK experienced price growth as high as 12% in 2018, there are 34% more tenants registering to rent on the year, and rents are up by almost 4% across the country.”
