A shortage of homes in the South West is expected to push up house prices in 2022, according to surveyors.
Some 84% of property professionals believe the West of England will see an increase in the cost of homes rather than a decrease, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ UK residential market survey found.
Nationally, the number of new listings failed to keep up with demand over Christmas, leading to agreed sales dropping and underpinning house price rises.
In December, some 69% of property professionals reported a rise rather than a fall in house prices, with two-thirds (67%) saying they expected prices to increase over the year ahead.
The findings were released after Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed on Wednesday (January 19) that house prices have been continuing to surge despite the rising cost of living.
UK house prices rose by 10% annually in November, while the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) recorded a jump in inflation to 5.4% in December, marking the strongest growth in nearly 30 years.
Simon Rubinsohn, Rics chief economist, said: “Despite the termination of the stamp duty break at end of September and the more recent increase in interest rates, the Rics new buyer inquiries indicator remained in positive territory into the year end.
“Although respondents to the latest survey continue to highlight a lack of stock on the market, they do encouragingly still see some scope for transaction volumes to edge upwards over the coming months."
“More of a concern is the suggestion that the mismatch between demand and supply will drive house prices even higher through the course of 2022."
Mr Rubinsohn said rents were on a similar "upward course" over the next 12 months despite more broader cost of living challenges emerging on the back of higher energy costs.
He added: "And significantly, the longer-term metrics capturing five-year expectations suggests the industry for now continues to anticipate prices and rents outpacing wage growth beyond the end of this year in the absence of a major uplift in new supply.”
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