<p><span>The housing market remains notably busy, with demand for homes in the new year up 49% compared with the three-year average, according to Zoopla.</span><span></span></p> <p><span>This reflects the total number of buyers contacting agents in the four weeks to January 16 2022, compared to the average over a similar period between 2018 and 2021. </span><span>The property portal’s latest UK House Price Index showed an increase in buyers similar to the level seen during the stamp duty holiday, it said.</span></p> <p><span>Within this, Zoopla saw<span> “record demand” for all property types. Three-bedroom homes outside London were the most desired house type – demand for these was four times higher than the five-year average. But demand for flats reached its highest level in five years, the data also revealed.</span></span></p> <p><span>Zoopla’s research showed that in 2021, UK average house prices rose </span><span>7.4% to £242,000 following a 4.2% increase in 2020.</span></p> <p><span>But with a lack of supply being a “major theme” of the market since the pandemic began, a “significant” imbalance between supply and demand persisted, Zoopla added. Stock levels were 44% lower against the five-year average. At the same time, it noted a slight improvement against late 2021, when stock was down 47%.</span></p> <p><span>The demand …