Asking prices breach £200,000

The average asking price of a home in England and Wales has passed the £200,000 barrier due to renewed demand from buyers, a report from Rightmove.co.uk has said.

The average asking price for a home is now £201,600.Rightmove has said that demand from increasingly confident buyers and a shortage of quality stock has given rise to the largest monthly increase since April 2004.

For the first time in 11 months, all property types saw prices rising. The largest
increases are at the lower end of the market as the recovery is driven by growing demand for terraces and flats.

Estate Agents have reported increasing numbers of first time buyers, partly assisted by parental help with deposits as well as more flexible lending criteria. More activity from buy to let investors, and downsizing divorcees are also adding to the activity in this sector.

Miles Shipside, Commercial Director of Rightmove said: “The market’s picked up quickly this year. As a result, properties are selling more quickly and stock levels are declining. House prices have stormed through the £200,000 barrier to record levels several months earlier than the market anticipated!

Buyers are back, particularly at the lower end of the market. We believe this will lead to further sales as successful sellers move up the property ladder. However, sellers must not get too ambitious or the recovery could run out of steam as affordability is over-stretched again.”

Rightmove’s House Price Index is compiled from the asking prices of properties coming onto the market via Rightmove.co.uk’s 8,800 estate agency branches. It is produced from factual data of actual prices of actual properties, rather than being a survey of opinions as with some other indexes.