Asking price for homes rises 2.6%

Property asking prices rose 2.6% this month with the onset of the traditional moving season according to Rightmove.

The latest survey by the property website shows new sellers coming to market ignored any pre-election jitters and economic woes and pushed up their average asking prices by £5,898. This contrasts sharply with the 0.1% rise the month before.

However, although stock shortages that have underpinned prices are easing slightly, estate agents report wide variances in supply and demand between neighbouring patches, and also within property types in the same area.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove said: “Rarer property types in desirable locations are achieving record prices. Conversely, in areas where buyers have less access to cash or mortgage finance, or there is an over-supply of a certain property type, then sellers are having to price much more aggressively to secure a sale”.

However, the report warns that the level of unsold stock is at its highest since October last year and if this continues the market could be prone to downward price pressure.

“This increased choice for potential buyers, combined with the impact of the inevitable post-election austerity measures on personal finances, could lead to some of the price gains seen so far being whittled away by price falls later in the year in all but the most popular areas,” says the report.

In London, a result of the spring buoyancy and market recovery, every borough has recorded new sellers asking higher prices than a year ago. This is the first time this has happened since March 2008 with average asking prices now £421,822 which is 9% higher than a year ago, leading all other regions in the country.