UK house prices to return to 'normal' in 2022 - Rightmove

Britain’s hectic property market is expected to ease and return to more “normal” levels next year, but prices will still rise by 5%, according to data revealed by real estate platform Rightmove.

The company on Monday said the typical property asking price dipped in December, down 0.7% - a sign of a return to more traditional trends.

Rightmove's director of property data Tim Bannister, said the market could stabilise, despite the impact of the Covid pandemic.

The typical home coming fresh to market was listed for £340,167, compared to £342,401 the previous month, and up 6.3% on the average asking price in December 2020, Rightmove said.

More homes were set to come to the market, fulfilling pent-up demand from buyers and perhaps slowing the sharp price increases that have been seen in the past 18 months, it added. Buyer numbers are 41% higher on an election-subdued 2019, and still 3% up on 2020.

“With a jump in the number of owners requesting valuations from agents with a view to marketing their homes, it looks like many of this group are now gearing up to make it a new year resolution to move, so more buyer choice could now be on the cards,” Bannister said.

However, Rightmove warned that “some of the edge” would be taken off sellers’ pricing power by “increasingly stretched buyer affordability”, and more buyer choice boosted by previously hesitant sellers now gearing up for a move.