Twindig Housing Market Index (HMI) - 20 November 21

In what was another quiet week for the UK housing market, the Twindig Housing Market Index increased by 0.4% this week to 90.8. This was the week that saw equity release loans leap by 19% in Q3 2021 as lockdown restrictions continued to ease and the number of ways to spend your money increased. 

House prices, as reported by the Land Registry continued to rise although house prices in London faltered. It is too early to tell yet if this is London setting the scene for future trends as the impact of the stamp duty holiday starts to unwind or just a case of post (stamp duty) holiday blues. Fortunately for homeowners, our investor confidence measures suggest a case of the blues rather than a turning of the house price tide.

Zoopla reported this week that rents were rising at their fastest rate for 13 years, unlucky for tenants, but lucky for landlords as after a period of absence, for some, the attractions of working from the office start to outweigh the benefits of working from home. Aside from rising urban centre rents (after a period of declines during lockdown) rural and country rents are also rising as the race for space continues and many want to dip their toes in the rural idyll before fully committing and buying into the 'good life' dream.

The Halifax reported this week that the number of home movers reached their highest level since the credit crunch in 2007, which once again points to how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we view and use our homes and how the stamp duty holiday stirred us into action.