TWENTY NINE buyers for each home for sale in Britain - how about that as a prospect to get the property market off to a flying start in 2022.

The figures come from Propertymark, the industry body representing the National Association of Estate Agents, the Association of Residential Estate Agents and other groups in the property business.

The stats are based on the average number of house hunters registered at each branch in Britain bearing the Propertymark logo from the end of November.

Thirty eight per cent of homes had been sold that month for more than the original asking price, an increase on October when the number of sellers who’d exceeded their expectations was 21 per cent.

The results were also encouraging for first time buyers. Twenty nine per cent of purchasers in the month before Christmas were new to home ownership, compared with 25 per cent in October.

Propertymark’s chief executive Nathan Emerson had urged anyone sitting on the fence to get their skates on. His advice to prospective sellers was to get on with it.

“The level of demand is expected to continue into the first quarter of [2022] but cannot last forever,” he said.

Even when times are hard as they are now, owning a stake in the property where you live is likely to be a sound investment. Last year the average value of a house in the south east increased by £23,000 according to Zoopla – the average hike for properties across the UK was £16,000

Once again, Buckinghamshire is in the headlines as a popular choice among househunters wanting to change their lifestyle. Iver is sixth on Zoopla’s list of the top ten countryfied towns, villages and hamlets in Britain attracting families in search of the good life. Average cost of a home in Iver increased six per cent last year to £633,810. Five years ago you could probably have bought the same house for 11 per cent less.

“The commuter village of Iver is at the foot of the Chiltern Hills so there’s plenty of green space – and it has some dreamy houses,” says a local estate agent. “It’s also less than half an hour from London, Paddington. Next year it will join the Elizabeth Line with direct services to the West End and City.”

Denham comes in at number eight in the top ten ratings with an average asking price of £601,585. Strictly speaking the village is in Middlesex but its’s close enough to the border for locals in south Bucks to feel at home.

Zoopla reports: “Denham was once known as the Hollywood of the Home Counties thanks to the Denham Film Studios recently converted into flats.

“It’s just within the M25 and on the eastern fringes of the Chiltern Hills. Life in Denham offers scenic walks along the towpath of the Grand Union Canal, very fast train services to London Marylebone – from 24 minutes – and a pretty village with some ancient cottages and large houses.”