Riding high on the wave of success seen throughout 2021, January 2022 proved to be a strong month for the property market in the UK.

The reasons behind London’s underperformance are likely due to its unaffordability in comparison to the rest of the country.

For example, the average price for a London property was around £510,000. To put that into perspective, this was nearly double the national average at that time.

The North West region saw the largest month-on-month rental increase, with overall rents jumping by 1.3%. The North East became the area to rent in, with an average of around £570 PCM.

On the whole, however, this level of prosperity provided a nice start to the year, with growing demand for housing assisting to push prices even further. Property experts Savills reported that demand for all kinds of housing was up by 49% in the weeks to mid-January compared to the same period, 2018-21.

This was most likely in part due to the low housing supply available on the market at that time – meaning that the market faced much more fierce competition as potential buyers battled it out for a smaller crop of potential properties.

[January 2022]

•   Avg. Property Price: £272,738
• 12-Month Price Growth: 9.60%
• 12-Month Rental Growth: 8.50%

• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,064

As a growing number of employers introduced work-from-home schemes, the majority of tenants became more concerned with outdoor amenities and working spaces. This saw the rise of new-build developments, in which specialised amenities like gyms and dedicated remote-work spaces featured prominently.

The rental market also saw similar levels of positive growth, with overall rents seeing a slight increase from December 2021 as the growing demand from renters spilt over into the new year.

February 2022 – Property Price Alert

•   Avg. Property Price: £272,454
• 12-Month Price Growth: 10.90%

•   12-Month Rental Growth: 8.60%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,069

Similar to the month beforehand, London lagged behind the crowd. On a more positive note, however, this month saw annual growth of 5.42% – much closer to the national average than the month prior.

The North East was the cheapest area to rent, with the average rent PCM rising to £583.

Rightmove recorded Scotland as having the highest monthly and annual rental growths, seeing increases of 1.7% and 12.1%, respectively.

At this time, the East Midlands and London were the only regions to see a drop in rental prices – the good news being that these were only slight dips of around 0.1%.

March 2022 – Property Price Alert

•   Avg. Property Price: £273,787
• 12-Month Price Growth: 14.30%

•   12-Month Rental Growth: 10.40%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,078

Once again, the market saw continued prosperity as it entered March – with property prices and average rent steadily growing.

Regionally, Wales experienced the strongest price growth in the UK, with a rise of 11.7% on the year.

Comparatively, Scotland saw the slowest growth annually, coming in at (a respectable) 8%.

The East Midlands came out on top, once again, with 12.4%, whilst London continued to play catch-up, seeing just a 4.8% growth.

Despite the market flourishing in the midst of supply issues, the looming threat of high energy prices and a cost-of-living crisis began to rear its head.

This massive demand for rental properties meant that rents would continue to skyrocket into Spring, but these economic and cost-of-living worries would continue to plague the market for the rest of the year. Why not read our Property investment guide for more knowledge on property investments.

April 2023 – Property Price Alert

•   Avg. Property Price: £276,917
• 12-Month Price Growth: 12.10%

•   12-Month Rental Growth: 11.00%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,091

Rental growth was widespread across the country, with April proving to be the highest increase in rental prices since 2011. This was particularly apparent in London, the West Midlands and Wales.

The ONS reported the ratio of house prices to earnings reached a new high of 8.9 for England & Wales, compared to 7.7 in the same period in 2019.

According to TwentyCi, the number of homes on the market had increased in each of the first three months of 2022, reverting to normal seasonal trends. However, this amount was still 44% below pre-pandemic levels, meaning that it would take some time for any effect on the market to be seen.

May 2022 – Property Price Alert

•   Avg. Property Price: £280,719
• 12-Month Price Growth: 11.20%

•   12-Month Rental Growth: 10.60%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,091

Again, despite slightly lower growth, the market maintained the solid trends seen in 2022 so far.

There were also still huge levels of demand to keep up with, as well as a stronger sense of confidence from first-time buyers.

June 2022 – Property Price Alert

•   Avg. Property Price: £283,110
• 12-Month Price Growth: 6.56%

•   12-Month Rental Growth: 10.50%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,113

As Summer approached, June saw a significant deceleration in terms of growth, but prices did still see some leaps.

In terms of the rental market, there was still strong growth that was unaffected by the troubles emerging in the housing market.

In sharp contrast to the house price drop, the annual growth of rental prices only fell by 0.1%.

July 2022 – Property Price Alert

•   Avg. Property Price: £288,961
• 12-Month Price Growth: 14.23%
• 12-Month Rental Growth: 9.50%

• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,127

While the housing market fluctuated somewhat, the rental market proved to be relatively reliable and stable in the first half of the year.

The rental market, however, saw another strong month, with some of the largest monthly rent increases at this point in the year.

According to some analysis, the rate at which rental prices were growing was almost six times higher than pre-pandemic levels, with the strongest markets being the North West, Greater London and West Midlands. If you are looking for some tips, why not read our “Choosing the right property guide” that is packed full of useful advice.

August 2022 – Property Price Alert

•   Avg. Property Price: £291,099
• 12-Month Price Growth: 11.78%

•   12-Month Rental Growth: 8.50%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,143

Outside of London, which continued its usual pattern, the West Midlands and Yorkshire saw the smallest regional growth of 13.10%, with the largest being the South West (17%).

The rental market also saw a slower level of growth as we headed into Autumn, as the annual growth slowed down slightly compared to previous months.

September 2022 – Property Price Alert

•   Avg. Property Price: £292,982
• 12-Month Price Growth: 8.91%

•   12-Month Rental Growth: 9.20%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,159

The value of the GBP nosedived to its lowest-ever values, reflecting the lack of confidence that many had in the UK’s economy.

With Buy-to-Let mortgages already having higher interest rates than before, this would become a less popular method of investing in property as the year came to a close.

Investing in other property types, such as off-plan developments, that offered lower entry points and flexible payments became more prevalent as a consequence.

October 2022 – Property Price Alert

•   Avg. Property Price: £291,993
• 12-Month Price Growth: 10.88%

•   12-Month Rental Growth: 10.60%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,171

The rental market remained resilient, despite rising issues with mortgage rates.

Overall, the UK had an average rent of around £976 PCM.

The largest annual growth – funnily enough – came from Scotland (15.2%), which was one of the only areas in which rents, compared to the month previous, were 1.4% lower than in September.

The North East saw a decent annual growth of around 17%, followed closely by the North West at 16.1%.

The average house price was around £28,000 higher than in October 2021; the financial turbulence was proving to be a significant strain on the market.

November 2022 – Property Price Alert

•   Avg. Property Price: £291,922
• 12-Month Price Growth: 9.18%

•   12-Month Rental Growth: 11.10%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,175

The North West saw the largest growth in terms of rental yields, rising by 1.2% since October. In comparison, a large sum of other regions began to see declining rental figures, with Northern Ireland (-2.1%) and Scotland (-1.1%) seeing the highest drops.

Looking at the rental market, there appeared to be a sustained level of annual growth, but month-on-month levels suffered and greatly reduced the rates seen earlier in the year.

Rents across the board only rose by 0.3% – likely once again reflecting the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

November saw continued calming of the fast rates of growth, with many projections suggesting that house prices had already reached a natural peak that would begin to drop as the UK entered 2023.

December 2022 – Property Price Alert

•   Avg. Property Price: £290,672
• 12-Month Price Growth: 8.41%

• 12-Month Rental Growth: 10.80%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,174

December 2022 saw a slight drop in average prices, but they remained relatively stable as the end of the year approached.

Again, this was most likely due to the strong price growth experienced up to 2022 Q3 and the following price drops through Q4.

The property market was one of the few sectors that flourished during the pandemic.

Due to a combination of low-interest rates, stamp duty holidays, and rising yields, house prices in the UK experienced some of the most rapid growth on record.

However, as outlined above, last year threw a range of obstacles towards buyers that have led to less confidence in the housing market in 2023.

Excluding the capital, the average rental price in the UK remained at £977 – the same as in November and 9.4% higher than in 2021.

The Property Market in 2023

With both dramatic highs at the start and verging on disastrous lows as it approached its end.

As we now reach the halfway point of 2023, has anything improved?

2023 Market History

January 2023 – Property Price Alert

• Avg. Property Price: £288,289
• 12-Month Price Growth: 5.70%
• 12-Month Rental Growth: 5.17%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,119

January saw the fifth consecutive month of house price drops, as the average fell to £288,289.

Business analysts expected the market to show signs of an oncoming slowdown as a result of the number of mortgage approvals in December tumbling to 43% below the 2018-19 average for the month.

Alongside this, further pressure on price values was expected to come from falling demand relative to supply.

More and more surveyors reported falling enquiries in comparison to new instructions during this period, according to an RICS survey.

The number of new instructions was also below the relative amount of new sales agreed in January, according to TwentyCI, who also reported rising levels of price reductions and cancellations.

February – Property Price Alert

• Avg. Property Price: £287,537
• 12-Month Price Growth: 5.54%
• 12-Month Rental Growth: 9.64%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,172

Again, prices saw another month-on-month drop, with the average slipping by -0.26% in February.

The imbalance between supply and demand, a key driver of value growth, also began to see signs of correction.

The ratio of new sales to new instructions across the overall market returned to pre-Covid levels, with demand still dropping rapidly compared to supply rates.

March 2023 – Property Price Alert

• Avg. Property Price: £285,057
• 12-Month Price Growth: 4.12%
• 12-Month Rental Growth: 8.10%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,175

No surprises here – for the seventh consecutive month, house prices fell in March.

At this point, however, demand for properties began to recover.

With new mortgage approvals rising to 33% below pre-Covid averages, new instructions and completed sales rose more sharply.

Supply of new homes on the market surged to around 20% higher than the pre-Covid values in March, with the value of completed sales now back on par with pre-Covid rates for the month.

April 2023 – Property Price Alert

• Avg. Property Price: £286,489
• 12-Month Price Growth: 3.46%
• 12-Month Rental Growth: 14.48%
• Avg. UK Rent PCM: £1,249

According to Nationwide, for the first time since the September Mini-Budget, House Prices grew by 0.5% in April.

While this is not a complete return to the heights seen in 2021, this is some cause for celebration.

The drop rate seen had already been slowing throughout the beginning of the year, but April’s growth is another sign of a gradual return of confidence towards the market.

Alongside this also came rejuvenated market activity, with the number of newly completed sales just -6% below the 2017-19 average for April, a huge improvement compared to the dramatic lows seen in the wake of the mini-budget last year.

May – Property Price Alert

• Avg. Property Price: £260,736
• 12-Month Price Growth: -7.12%

As of May 2023, the average UK property price stood at £260,736, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index.

This follows a run of monthly price drops in the market, starting from the beginning of the year. In February, prices were down 0.5%, which then fell further by 0.8% in March, aligning with the many predictions of a housing market collapse in 2023.

However, the good news for investors is that things appear to be looking up.

The average price of homes coming to market rose by £6,647 from April to May. According to the latest figures from the Land Registry, April 2023 also saw a 3.46% increase on the year, which – whilst not on the same level as seen in 2021/22 – is an indicator that there is still some growth potential in the market.

Despite many experts predicting that residential house prices could fall by 11% in 2023, the economy has fared much better than many expected and has avoided the recession that so many had forecasted.

Property Price Predictions 2023

Alongside this, May’s property price increase has been the highest so far in 2023, meaning that house prices could potentially continue to rise in 2023.

However, according to Rightmove, buyer demand was 3% higher in May 2023 compared to May 2019.

Of course, reports are still conflicting, with Halifax suggesting in April that prices have grown at the slowest annual rate in over 10 years.