Asking prices hit by sudden increase in homes for sale

Published 16th Mar 2010

The number of homeowners selling their properties rose to an 18-month high in March, bringing down the rate of increase in asking prices to the lowest level recorded.

Rightmove, the property website, said that the 0.1 per cent rise was the smallest figure for March, traditionally the start of the spring buying season, since its survey began in 2002.

An end to the winter chill of the previous two months sparked a big rise in the number of people putting their homes on the market, increasing competition. The average March price rise is 1.3 per cent, Rightmove said.

The survey found that the typical asking price was now £229,614 — 5.3 per cent higher than in March last year and 3.7 per cent higher than at the start of this year.

Miles Shipside, a director at the website, said: “As usual we’ve seen a winter [asking] price lull followed by a new year bounce, though at a national level it’s never previously fizzled out before spring has really sprung ... In some areas, more restrained pricing is required as a direct result of buyers having more choice.”

The data will strengthen the view of some economists that price growth will continue to fall slightly or flatten out over the next few months.

Most commentators believe that a lack of supply of new property has kept prices stable or rising since they bottomed out last April. Halifax and Nationwide both recorded price dips in February, while figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed a steep fall in mortgage approvals in January. The latest official transaction data from HM Revenue & Customs showed that sales halved at the start of the year — which was mainly a consequence of the cold weather, according to estate agents.

Rightmove said that problems securing mortgage approvals were hampering sales completions, while the inability of many first-time buyers to obtain a loan means that those at the bottom of the ladder have continued to struggle despite a recent improvement in lenders’ criteria for those with a 10 per cent deposit.

Source: ' Times '

View All Latest News