On a regional basis, Keller Williams found that England’s South East experienced the biggest year-on-year change, growing from 29,797 sales in Q1 2020, to just under 42,500 in Q1 2021. This marks a growth in sales volume of 12,667 homes, or 42.5%.
Scotland has also experienced a significant boom, with total sales volumes in Q1 2021 outstripping 2020 by 38.3%, or a total of 7,434 sales.
In the East of England, sales grew by 33.3% in the same time period, in the South West sales grew by 30.7%, and in London, sales volumes rose from 19,834 in Q1 2020, to 24,943 in Q1 2021, an increase of 25.8%.
In fact, all of Britain’s regions experienced higher sales volumes in 2021 than in 2020, including the West Midlands (15.3%), Yorkshire & Humber (12.1%), East Midlands (11.9%), North West (9.1%), North East (5.9%), and Wales (0.3%).
The New Forest, spread across Hampshire and Wiltshire in England’s South East, has seen the most significant bounce back. In Q1 2020, the region saw 555 sales, while in Q1 2021, the local total was 1,037, growth of 86.8%.
In Hart, also in Hampshire, sales volume increased 76.7% in the same time period with Uttlesford (75.6%), Epsom & Ewell (74.8%), and Argyll & Bute (70.2%) close behind.
The sharpest decline in volume has been experienced by the City of London. In Q1 2020, the district saw 49 sales, and in Q1 2021 just 35 sales, a decline of 28.6%.
This decline was followed by Tower Hamlets, where sales dropped by 26% from 839 in 2020 to 621 in 2021.
Ben Taylor, chief executive of Keller Williams UK, said: “England’s South East has long been one of the country’s most desirable locations and house prices have always been well above average.
“In Hampshire, which benefits from having large cities such as Southampton as well as areas of great natural beauty like the New Forest, the housing market is on fire.
“An 87% rise in sales over the course of one year is quite extraordinary and serves as a microcosm for much of the nation.
“And it’s also interesting to see the North East and North West towards the very bottom of the growth table, given how often these two regions are spoken of in terms of booming popularity.
“It goes to show that, despite the radical changes we have seen due to the pandemic, there is still a significant north-south divide in the British housing market.”
