–Rightmove: UK April House Asking Prices +2.9% m/m; +3.4% y/y
LONDON (MNI) – UK house asking prices have returned to record high
levels in April, four years after prices crashed as the worldwide
interbank lending crisis shook the UK housing market.
House asking prices rose 2.9% on the month in April to hit an
average of stg243,737, 0.5% above the previous record of stg242,410
posted back in May 2008, according to the Rightmove survey. In real
terms, house asking price have fallen markedly, down 9.9% since May
2008.
The 2.9% month-on-month rise in asking prices was the highest
recorded in an April since 2007, Rightmove said. It cited the shortage
of sellers as a factor underpinning prices, with 0.5% fewer properties
coming on the market this April compared to laster and 30% fewer than in
April 2007.
The national average asking price is boosted by London’s strong
performance. While new sellers nationally are asking 0.5% more than the
last record set in May 2008, those in London have managed to raise their
asking prices by 14.9%, Rightmove said.
Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove said “From a national
perspective, it has taken four years for new sellers to pitch their
asking prices above their previous record. However, this is not a
universal signal of a housing market recovery. The richest seams of
housing market activity are concentrated around those with access to
cash and finance, with a strong bias to the south and London.”
–London newsroom: 4420 7862 7491; email: wwilkes@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$B$$$,MABDA$,MABDS$]
