12
Jul
Interesting Article on House Prices
Average UK asking prices remained stable in July as a
surge of property onto the market stalls price growth .
A combination of sellers wanting to take advantage of recent
price growth and renewed confidence following the budget has caused
a flood of sales property onto the market. Stock levels grew 6% in
July from June and there is now 43% more property on the market in
the UK than in January 2010.
According to FindaProperty.com’s latest House Prices And
Affordability Index, this surge of property has forced sellers to
reassess the asking prices of their homes to reflect the levels of
property available for buyers.
Despite an increase in supply of all property types from studio
flats to 5+ bedroom houses, the overall market has been able to
prevent a fall in asking prices, stabilising around £220,250.
But, first-time buyers have enjoyed a slight fall in the average
asking price of property they would traditionally target.
First-time buyer properties remained stable and stand at
£155,994 in July.
Despite seven of the UK’s regions enjoying stable or
rising asking prices in July, any growth was marginal. Scotland and
the East of England enjoyed the highest rise in asking prices up
0.4% to £152,967 and £217,616 respectively. The North
East, North West, Yorkshire and Humber, East Midlands, and the
South East all saw stable or price rises of between 0.1% and 0.3%
in July.
London saw its most dramatic fall in prices since June 2008 with
a 1.1% drop in the average asking price to £435,110. This was
a result of further rises in supply in the capital. Stock levels
were up 7% in July and 51.3% since the start of the year. The West
Midlands, Wales and the South West all saw asking prices fall
between 0.1% and 0.2%.
Nigel Lewis, of FindaProperty.com said:
“The growth in asking prices we’ve seen over the
last few months was always in danger of slowing if stock levels
started to soar. Over the last few months we’ve seen supply
building a steady head of steam as sellers flocked to market. These
sellers have been tempted with the prospect of rising prices and
the confidence surrounding the market following the election and
budget. Finally, prices have succumbed to the laws of supply and
demand.
“We’re likely to see this fluctuation of supply and
demand for the rest of the year. And if we interest rates have to
be put up in order to control inflation, this could have a severe
impact on peoples’ appetite to purchase.”