British home sales hit record after lockdown, Rightmove says

Reuters reports that Britons bought and sold a record number of homes between mid July and early August as pent-up demand from the coronavirus lockdown and a desire to leave London bucked the usual summer slowdown, industry data showed on Monday.

Property website Rightmove, which says it is used by 90% of British estate agents, reported the highest number of home sales agreed since it began tracking the data more than 10 years ago, with transactions more than 20% higher than the previous record.

The most recent figures from the Bank of England - which cover June, before July's announcement of a tax break on moving home - showed a sharp rebound in demand for mortgages, but fewer loans were approved than before the pandemic.

"Rather than just a release of existing pent-up demand due to the suspension of the housing market during lockdown, there's an added layer of additional demand due to people's changed housing priorities after the experience of lockdown," Rightmove director Miles Shipside said.

Average asking prices for August - based on data collected from July 12 to Aug. 8 - were 4.6% higher than a year earlier as the normal summer softening in demand failed to materialise.

Only in London was there the typical 2% monthly fall in asking prices, with prices up almost everywhere else in Britain other than London's commuter belt.

"The out-of-city exodus has helped push prices to record levels in Devon and Cornwall, for example, where working from home means a different lifestyle much closer to your new doorstep," Shipside said.