2021 saw property prices continue to grow month on month after the lockdowns 2020 came to an end. As a result of the lockdowns many people wanted to upsize, create a work from home space, had children and needed more bedrooms or wanted a home bar for example. 

 

A culture shift in moving away from city centre living and working from home in a more picturesque location has driven many rural areas to increase in value too, also caused by the huge increase in 'staycations' pushing up prices in tourist locations too. With the threat of further lockdowns this mindset can be expected to continue. 

 

This created a huge demand for new properties. As 2021 comes to an end we continue to see more of the same. Very few properties left on Rightmove and Zoopla but still 1000s of people wanting to move. Under supply and over demand will continue to keep pushing house prices up. Those 1000s of buyers wait in the wings waiting for more properties coming to market, further fuelling high price increases. 

 

With Mortgage interest rates to remain low for at least the early months of 2022 after the Bank of England announced a small increase to the base rate to 0.25%, cheap mortgages will make the buying process easier and more viable to many people. Economists are predicting growth of between 2.5 - 5.3% throughout 2022. 

 

As with all predictions, only time will tell as things play out, but watch this space!