House prices rise by 852 in a month

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House prices rise by 852 in a month

The average house price has jumped by 852 in a month as estate agents experience their busiest start to a year yet, according to Rightmove.

The average asking price for a home in Britain is now 341,019, an increase due to larger homes, according to the property website.

The average price for first-time buyers properties reached a record of 214,176 - 1.4 per cent more than the previous month, raising the price of starter homes.

There is a lot of regional variation. House prices in the majority of areas, including Yorkshire and the Midlands, fell slightly, but high growth in a number of areas, including the southwest, caused a national rise.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property data, said the signs suggest that prices are likely to go up until more choice is available. He said the regions in the most urgent need of new supply were the East Midlands, southwest and southeast, which are at an unsustainable annual price growth of over 10 per cent.

The average stock of available properties per estate agency branch is at a record low of 12 per cent, and the number of buyers inquiring about homes is 15 per cent higher than a year ago.

There are early signs that a wider choice of properties is on the way. The number of home valuation requests increased by 44 per cent in the first week of the year compared to the same period last year.

Roger Wilkinson, managing director at Wilkinson Grant Co, said the price of house will go up this coming year, but there is a new mood of buyer realism, which will slow down such rampant house price growth. Chris Pearson, director at Pearson Keehan in Hove, said Brighton and Hove continue to be as popular as ever, with an influx of buyers relocating from London and the surrounding areas looking for a lifestyle change. Since working from home has become an option, these numbers are continuing to increase. He said demand outweighed supply at present, but an increase in requests for property valuations this month suggested sellers were slowly returning to the market.

Pearson said that it bodes well for the number of expected transactions and we believe it will be another busy year ahead with competitive lending still available.