House sellers’ asking prices have lifted to a new record high amid surging levels of demand from buyers and a lack of choice of properties, Rightmove has reported.
The property website said new sellers' asking prices increased by 1.6 per cent, or £4,381, month-on month in April to reach £286,133 on average across England and Wales, surpassing a previous peak reached last June.
Growing demand from buyers has been met by a slide in the number of properties for sale, according to the website — whose index started in 2002. So far, this year’s newly-marketed property numbers are down by 4 per cent compared with January to April 2014.
Meanwhile, demand from prospective buyers is on the increase according to Rightmove — which said it recorded its busiest ever month in March. Website visits were up by almost 20 per cent year-on-year, to more than 115 million. With just weeks to go until the General Election, Rightmove said that the challenge to meet the country’s housing needs is greatest in the south of England, including London, the South East, the East of England and the South West.
In these areas, the typical price of property coming to market is up by more than a quarter (27.5 per cent ) or £84,874 compared with the 2010 election.
Severe property shortages in London in particular have pushed prices up there by £195,420 or 49 per cent typically over the last five years, the website said. Buyers looking for a home in the capital are now facing an average seller asking price of £594,585.
The commuter belt South East region has also seen the knock-on-effects of strong price growth in London as house hunters cast their nets wider for more value, with asking prices there having increased by 20 per cent, or £62,105, over the five-year period.
House prices in northern England have recorded a £6,374, or 3.7 per cent, increase over the last five years. In Wales, new house sellers’ asking prices now stand on average at £176,912, having increased by £3,489, or 2 per cent, over the last five years. Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: “Record high housing demand and an under-supply of homes have delivered a new all-time high in the price of property coming to market in the month before the election.
“The high cost of housing is a big concern for many home-hunters, so the contents of the respective party manifestos and well thought-out sustainable solutions to the lack of affordable housing supply will be high on many voters’ agendas too.”
He continued: “With low wage inflation, the increasing cost of housing is another burden for many. The problem is especially acute in the south, particularly those areas influenced by the high demand for housing reach within the capital.”
Rightmove’s findings come after concerns were raised last week by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), which said it is seeing signs of a “worrying” upward pressure on house prices amid the lack of homes to choose from. Experts have suggested that some sellers could be awaiting the outcome of the election before putting their home on the market.
PA
