An estate agent is warning house prices will rise next year.

Rightmove predicts that the national average price of property coming to market will rise by five per cent next year, as strong buyer demand and a historically low level of available property continue to push up prices in 2022.

As always there will be sector and regional market variations. Currently the most competitive markets are in Scotland, the West Midlands, the South West and Yorkshire and the Humber, and Rightmove predicts these areas are likely to see price growth at a higher rate of upwards of seven per cent next year.

Rightmove also forecasts that the London market will continue to improve, albeit from a lower base of activity and price rises than the rest of the country, with a more muted rate of three per cent growth. Rightmove’s price forecast is based on a house price predictive model that uses millions of supply, demand and pricing data points across the property market, along with insights from a panel of Rightmove experts.

Rightmove’s Director of Property Data Tim Bannister said: “It’s been a hectic 18 months for the property market since the end of the first lockdown with changed housing needs driven by the pandemic inspiring many moves, and the stamp duty holiday encouraging some movers to bring their plans forward.

"The net result as we approach the start of the 2022 market is the lowest ever available stock of property for sale per estate agency branch, yet with ongoing high buyer demand.

"This imbalance between supply and demand has resulted in buyer demand per available property being at near record highs, suggesting that the 2021 scenario of multiple buyer bids on a high proportion of properties when they come to market is set to continue in the new year.

“We do, however, expect the pace of rises in 2022 to be slower than in 2021 due to increasingly stretched buyer affordability following this year’s rapid rises in average prices. Slowing in the pace of price rises and activity is likely to be more evident in the second half of the year as base rate rises, higher inflation, and higher taxes begin to weigh more heavily on buyer sentiment.

"Therefore if sellers are too optimistic on their asking price in the first half of the year, they risk missing the most active part of the market. While local markets vary considerably in their supply demand imbalance, Rightmove’s unique access to this detail and scale of data underpins our forecast for overall continued upwards price pressure in 2022 despite the prospect of base rate rises.”

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