Commentary by Ruban Selvanayagam

• According to the latest UK House Price Index, average house prices saw an annual price rise of 10% (to November 2021);
• Joseph Mews, in their recent Why Invest in the UK report, found the East Midlands saw the highest annual rental growth in the UK over the last 12 months at 8%;
• The latest Hometrack UK Cities House Price Index reported that Liverpool saw the greatest year-on-year house price growth at 10.7%. This was followed by Manchester (8.7%), Nottingham (8.6%) and Sheffield (8.2%);
• The most recent Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) report observed that new buyer enquiries have risen modestly, but the lack of new listings remains a challenge, that a shortage of stock continues to underpin price growth, and that sales expectations remain modestly positive in the near term and for the year ahead.