British house prices increased this past month at record-breaking rates, as many homes came to market after the December election.
The House Price Index from Rightmove shows a 2.3 per cent monthly surge (+£6,785) in houses on the market.
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It's the biggest rise in this period since Rightmove's records began in 2002.
Nearly 65,000 properties were marketed between the 8th December 2019 and the 11th January 2020.
Higher asking prices
The national average asking price stands at £306,810.
It's a sharp rise compared to December 2019's figure of £300,025.
This means most of them came to market after the 12th December election.
Miles Shipside, a director at Rightmove, believes the election's end caused a property market spike.
'These statistics seem to indicate that many buyers and sellers feel that the election result gives a window of stability.'
'The housing market dislikes uncertainty. The unsettled political outlook over the last three and a half years since the EU referendum caused some potential home-movers to hesitate,' continued Shipside.
Rightmove believes there's been a release of a 'pent-up' demand since the election.
Additionally, these January numbers point towards an active spring market.
Post-election boost
Since the general election, over 1.3 million buyer enquiries have been made. This is a 15 per cent rise compared to the same period a year ago.
A 7.4 per cent increase in the number of sales agreed over the same period, Rightmove adds.
The previous highest January rise was the 2.2 per cent recorded in January 2015.
Furthermore, this has helped to push the annual rate of increase to 2.7 per cent, the highest level since July 2017.
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'Whilst a substantial rise is the norm in January (...) this is the biggest new-year price surge that we have ever recorded,' adds Shipside.
'However it is still a price-sensitive market. So sellers should be careful not to get carried away with their pricing and miss out on this window of increased activity.'
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