Rightmove’s new data on price hotspots has revealed the areas with the highest increases in asking prices in the UK
Mountain Ash in Wales is this year’s price hotspot in the UK, according to Rightmove, which experienced a 31% increase in asking prices for homes.
The average asking price in Mountain Ash, in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, is now £137,220, up from £104,431 last year.
Wales is also this year’s regional asking price hotspot. Average prices are up 10.5% in Wales compared to 2020, followed by the South West (9.6%) and the South East (9.1%).
House prices have surged in 2021, with record asking prices reported in multiple house price indexes due to factors including the stamp duty holiday and the ‘race for space’, in which buyers are seeking larger homes amid the pandemic.
Rightmove says that every region across the UK has hit record asking prices for homes, with a combination of consistent high demand and a shortage of available properties leading to competition between buyers rising by 36% this year.
Porth, in Rhondda Cynon Taf is second on this year’s price hotspot list, where asking prices have risen by 26%, with third-place Kirkby in Liverpool at 21%.
Will House Prices Keep Climbing in 2022?
Demand is set to continue to be high in the new year, Rightmove says, although experts tend to agree that it is currently unclear what impact the new Omicron Covid-19 variant might have on the housing market.
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Tim Bannister, director of property data at Rightmove, says: “Strong competition for available properties, driven by low stock and high demand, has propped up asking prices throughout the year, and agents report that having multiple bidders for available properties will continue to be a theme into at least the first half of next year.
“Although we do expect a better balance of supply and demand during the course of 2022, and some fresh property choice for buyers.”
Jack has worked in journalism for 11 years and is the News Editor for Homebuilding & Renovating, a role he has had since 2019. He strives to break the most relevant and beneficial stories for self builders, extenders and renovators, including the latest news on the construction materials shortage and hydrogen heating. In 2021 he appeared on BBC's The World at One to discuss the government's planning reforms.
He enjoys testing new tools and gadgets, and having bought his first home in 2013, he has renovated every room and recently finished a garden renovation.
