Average asking price for a home rises 3.2%

Asking prices for homes jumped an average of 3.2% last month according to the latest survey by Rightmove.

The average rise of over £7,000 comes as a surprise given the difficult UK and global economic picture.

However property in popular locations remains in short supply, supporting upwards price pressure, as seen in London where the average asking price this month is the highest the property website has ever recorded.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: “A price jump of over 3% is more comparable to the pre-credit-crunch boom-times. Sellers are setting their sights higher, and some agents are going along with them in order to win scarce instructions.

A price jump of over 3% is more comparable to the pre-credit-crunch boom-times. Sellers are setting their sights higher

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove

"Property for sale remains scarce in popular areas, but new supply to the market has to be priced at what buyers are willing and able to pay”.

He added that the average increase may prove to be a bit too spicy for some buyers’ tastes, now that economic constraints have forced them to develop a simpler palate.

Supply of new sellers continues an upward trend. The number of properties coming to market is up by 19.8% on the same period in 2009. However, the amount of new stock in January 2009 was constrained by the introduction of the ban on marketing a property until its Home Information Pack had been prepared, and this has exaggerated this month’s increase.

New property listings are still down around 37% on the average numbers of properties coming to market recorded in the same period from 2005 to 2008