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Outlook for the housing market has strengthened since the election result, with enquiries rising and sales expectations improving noticeably, according to the latest RICS survey.

RICS says a number of key activity metrics have moved into positive territory for the first time in several months and a pick-up in house price inflation is expected in the coming months.

Its data shows that the majority of UK regions saw an increase in enquiries over the month, with respondents in Wales and the North East in particular reporting solid growth. At the same time, enquiries also rose in London and the South East, marking a noticeable turnaround following negative readings in the previous month.

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UK house prices increased by 2.2% in the year to November, up from 1.3% in the year to October, according to the latest UK HPI data from the ONS.

House prices increased by 1.7% over the year in England, up from 1.1% in the year to October.

House prices rose 7.8% in Wales, up from the 3.6% annual growth recorded in October. The research shows that the rise was driven by a shift towards higher-value property being transacted in areas typically with a larger volume of transactions and higher monthly growth, such as Cardiff and Newport. A fall in prices during the same period in 2018 has also contributed.

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CPI inflation fell to 1.3% in December, down from 1.5% the previous month to the lowest level seen since November 2016, according to the latest ONS statistics.

CPIH inflation – the ONS’ headline measure which includes owner occupiers’ housing costs – was 1.4% in December, down from 1.5% in November.

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Newly released data released by Halifax has shown that, during December, house prices in the UK were 4.0% higher than in the same month a year earlier.

Halifax revealed that on a monthly basis, house prices rose by 1.7%. In the latest quarter (October to December) house prices were 1.0% higher than in the preceding three months (July to September).

HMRC Monthly property transactions data shows a rise in UK home sales in November. UK seasonally adjusted residential transactions in November were 102,050 – up by 3.2% from October and the highest level since August 2017. Year-on-year, transactions in November 2019 were approximately 1.9% higher than November 2018 (0.2% lower on a non-seasonally adjusted basis).

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City house prices are set to increase by 3% in 2020, with the most affordable regional cities expected to grow by up to 4% and London increasing by 2%, according to Zoopla’s predictions.

House prices registered annual growth of 3.4% over 2019, with current house price growth ranging from 5.4% in Edinburgh to -0.7% in Aberdeen.

As we come to the end of the decade, the UK city index has increased by 54% – an average price increase of £90,000 or £9,000 a year – driven to a large degree by strong growth in London.

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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has today voted by a majority of 7–2 to maintain Bank Rate at 0.75%.

The Committee voted unanimously to maintain the stock of sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, at £10 billion. The Committee also voted unanimously to maintain the stock of UK government bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, at £435 billion.

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The number of first-time buyer mortgages completed in October 2019 was 2.8% higher than in the same month in 2018, according to the latest UK Finance data.

There were 33,370 homemover mortgages completed in October 2019, 4.2% more than in the same month a year earlier, and a 20.8% increase on remortgages with additional borrowing. For these remortgages, the average additional amount borrowed in October was £51,000. There were 20,660 new pound-for-pound remortgages (with no additional borrowing) in October 2019, 20% fewer than in October 2018.

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Rightmove predicts that the price of property coming to market in Britain will rise by 2% in 2020.

Rightmove believes that the election results will provide an opportunity to “release some of the pent-up demand in the spring, and for some modest upwards price movement”.

Annual price growth over 2019 stands at 0.8%, marginally above Rightmove’s previous forecast of 0% change, and December’s 0.9% fall is the smallest at this time of year since December 2006.

It added that sellers’ pricing power will be enhanced by a lack of choice for potential buyers, with the proportion of estate agent stock available for purchase at its lowest for over two years.

However 2020’s housing market is still expected to fall short of capacity, and Rightmove believes it can only return to full health “when Brexit is well in the past”.

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Figures for November’s housing market released by Halifax this morning have revealed the biggest monthly rise in house prices since February with average prices 2.1% higher than the same month a year earlier.

According to the lender, on a monthly basis, house prices rose by 1.0% and during the latest quarter (September to November) house prices were 0.2% higher than in the preceding three months (June to August)

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The proportion of first-time buyer house purchases increased by two percentage points in 2019 to 27%, according to the latest figures from NAEA Propertymark.

Over the course of 2019, NAEA’s research shows that demand was slightly higher than last year with an average of 320 house buyers registered per branch, compared to 318 on average throughout 2018. Looking back over the last decade, demand is up by 16%, from 275 per branch in 2009.

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