As someone who is currently enraptured by the difficulties of buying a house during a global pandemic – this news comes as a rather large surprise.
Estate agency Bentley Hurst’s December Manchester Property Index has revealed that the market in Manchester saw record levels of sales being agreed last December.
Despite a difficult 2020, the market in Manchester continues to show tremendous resilience, and with homebuyers endeavouring to make the most of the Stamp Duty deadline in March, the month saw a record 1,732 sales agreed.
Other factors have also played into the figures, with the city also seeing an abundance of new homes emerge onto the market, with 2,882 new listings in December alone, up 8.87% on last year.
Also, buyer enquiries were 11% higher than they were at the start of 2020, despite almost a year of tough tier and lockdown restrictions.
In addition the rental market has continued to boom, with rental property enquiries up 22% from the start of 2020, and rental values are projected to increase by 5% over the next five years, meaning there’s never been a better time to consider letting a property.
This comes after research from Zoopla found that tenants are paying up to £984 PCM for one-bedroom properties in Manchester, £1,200 PCM for two-bedroom properties, and £1,699 PCM for three-bedroom properties.
James Favas, director at Bentley Hurst, says: “The property market in Manchester is busier than it has been in a long while, and we have a lot to be excited about as we move into 2021.
“December is notoriously a quiet month in property, so to see new listings outperforming our usual seasonal trends just goes to show the strength of the market. Even lockdown and tough tier restrictions haven’t slowed the market down.
“Capital growth is increasing year on year with a projected growth in the region of 20% over the next five years, so we see this as only the beginning of a property boom in the area.”
