Commenting on today’s ONS UK House Price Index for July 2021, Nick Leeming, Chairman at Jackson-Stops said:

“July saw the market begin to settle further as buyers and homeowners reacted to the winding up of the SDLT holiday, and took the opportunity to rest, socialise and take stock over the summer months after a challenging year. The pace of activity over the last year has depleted stock levels and for some time this fuelled price growth due to the significant imbalance between supply and demand. Now, however, we are seeing that the lack of available properties is serving to cap market activity to some degree, putting the brakes on house price growth in tandem with the response to SDLT changes and the easing of social restrictions.

“However, while we may see a brief slowdown, this won’t last for long. Our data continues to show there are on average 25 buyers for each property on our books. I anticipate that this demand will continue and could very well grow as homeowners and buyers come back from holiday and start to think seriously about how they envisage their lifestyle changing in a world set to be defined by major societal trends, like the rise of flexible working.

"As we move into autumn and winter, I would expect to see demand and supply both hit upwards trends again, as more and more people reach a place of clarity on their split between home and the office, and what type of property and location might therefore suit their longer-term needs. This dynamic is likely to therefore support robust pricing and further house price growth in particularly desirable countryside and suburban areas for some time to come.”