Property giant records highest monthly sales for more than ten years

Rightmove has seen its busiest month for sales in a decade as buyers and sellers focused on property rather than holidays.

The website said sales worth a record sum of more than £37 billion were agreed last month – marking the highest monthly total since its records started more than ten years ago.

In july last year,£25bn worth of sales were agreed. Across Britain, the average asking price on a home in August now stands at £319,497 – down 0.2 per cent or £768 from £320,265 in July, which had been a record high.

However, asking prices did reach new record highs in August in seven nations and regions – Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire and the Humber, North-west England, the East Midlands, the East of England, and the West Midlands. Alan Kennedy, from Shepherd Surveyors in Fraserburgh, said: “Since the property market reopened on 29 June, there has been an exceptionally high number of properties coming onto the market and high levels of demand from prospective purchasers, particularly in the low-mid price range.” London pulled down the

national asking price trend, with the average price tag on a home there falling by 2 per cent month on month.

Rightmove said between 5 August and 12 August sales were up by 60 per cent compared with the same period in 2019, as the usual seasonal summer slowdown did not materialise.

The website said asking prices usually fall at this time of year as many people are normally away on holiday.

There were concerns the boom could quickly fall away, however.

Dominic Murphy, managing director of DM & Co estate agents in Solihull, said: “I suspect that the market will remain buoyant until job losses filter through and start to hit the market in full force.”

Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: “We associate this time of year with diving into the pool rather than the property market and of sand and sun rather than bricks and mortar, but buyers have had a record £37bn monthly spending spree.”

Mr Shipside said the increase in activity was not just due to the stamp duty holiday recently introduced in England and Northern Ireland.

“More property is coming to market than a year ago in all regions, and at a national level the new supply and heightened demand seem relatively balanced,” he said.

“However, those expressing most desire to move on are unsurprisingly in London and its commuter belt.”

Kevin Shaw, managing director of residential sales at Leaders Romans Group (LRG), said: “As many of us continue to work from home, people have realised business can function well while doing so, and so no longer want to commute into big cities five days a week, or live in urban environments closer to offices.

“There is real demand to live in rural locations providing green space.

“The recently announced stamp duty holiday is another market accelerator too, with many investors and buyers exploiting the savings that are to be made”

The latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey released last week had shown sellers reporting increased interest in properties that offered features like outdoor spaces and gardens.

Respondents had pointed to the backlog built up over the lockdown period as a reason for the current market activity levels. They also pointed to the ending of the furlough scheme as a concern with regard to the housing market.

RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said following the survey: “The strong impetus provided to the housing market is evident both in the results of the RICS survey and many of the anecdotal comments from respondents.

“However, it is interesting that there remains rather more caution about the medium-term outlook, with the macro environment, job losses and the ending or tapering of government support measures for the sector expected to take their toll. Significantly, some contributors are now even referencing the possibility of a boom followed by a bust.

“Meanwhile one of the other notable aspects of the survey is the feedback that there is a greater interest in properties that offer some features that help better manage future lockdowns whether it is access to green spaces, gardens or balconies.”