The number of housing valuations increased by nearly 30% between December 2014 and December 2015, demonstrating high buyer confidence and growing demand.

Summary:

• Activity in the UK housing market grew in 2015, with property valuations leaping by 29%
• Properties in the private rented sector experienced the biggest increase, with 86% more valuations in 2015
• Annual growth of rent values in the UK outperformed 2013 and 2014, rising by 5%

Activity in the UK housing market increased by more than 25% during 2015.

The total number of housing valuations carried out in December 2015 had risen by 29% compared to the market in December 2014.

The strong and encouraging annual progress comes despite the typical seasonal dip during winter, where evaluations dropped 17% between November and December, which fell between average historical rate dips.

John Bagshaw, Corporate Services Director of Connells Survey & Valuation, said: “More significantly, the whole property market has enjoyed a strong annual performance. December’s results are a reflection of the ever-increasing demand for homes as investment opportunities, as buy-to-let landlords join home movers seeking to make some sort of profit from their property.”

Annual growth in overall valuation activity has been primarily driven by the strong performances seen from the rental and remortgaging sectors. Between December 2014 and December 2015, the number of valuations conducted for properties in the private rented sector soared by 86%, while over the same period valuation activity among those looking to remortgage rose by 34%.

The increase in valuations during 2015 demonstrates the growing confidence within the property market and continued strong demand, especially in the private rented sector, which experienced the largest increase.  The annual growth in average rental values across the UK, excluding London, grew by 5% – higher than in 2013 and 2014, with the sector set to experience further growth in 2016.

Source：Select Property