The fifth consecutive monthly rise has left the national average just shy of a quarter of a million pounds at £249,841, surpassing the previous high set in June 2012. London, the South East and East Anglia have also hit all-time highs, with buyers in the capital facing an average asking price in excess of £500,000 for the first time.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst comments:
“The tumbling of records is being driven by the equity-rich older generation and has a definite southern bias. However, despite a new national record, it’s not ‘green-shoots of recovery’ across the board, especially for those without access to a significant deposit. They must wait patiently until January when the Help to Buy scheme extends to the resale market – unless new homes developers can increase building dramatically in the coming months.”
“The tumbling of records is being driven by the equity-rich older generation and has a definite southern bias. However, despite a new national record, it’s not ‘green-shoots of recovery’ across the board, especially for those without access to a significant deposit. They must wait patiently until January when the Help to Buy scheme extends to the resale market – unless new homes developers can increase building dramatically in the coming months.”
The average price of property coming to market has risen by 9.1% (+£20,412) so far in 2013, the strongest start to a year since 2004. This is the fifth monthly rise in a row, with all regions in positive territory this month. However, sellers in two northern regions, Yorkshire & Humberside and the East Midlands, are still in negative territory year-on-year. With London sprinting past the £500,000 milestone for the first time with a 3.1% monthly rise, a typical home in the capital is more than twice as expensive as the national average. Outside London and some southern hotspots, agents report that the market remains sensitive to price, with buyers willing to take their time to find their ideal home.
Shipside cautions:
“For those now in a position to buy, the recession appears to have precipitated a change in buyer behaviour which has left them more choosy and less likely to settle for second-best. Not only are they looking for value and being mindful of paying over the odds, prospective buyers are giving thought to ease of resale, a sign that the pain of this financial crisis has left them much more mindful of the future liquidity of their assets.”
“For those now in a position to buy, the recession appears to have precipitated a change in buyer behaviour which has left them more choosy and less likely to settle for second-best. Not only are they looking for value and being mindful of paying over the odds, prospective buyers are giving thought to ease of resale, a sign that the pain of this financial crisis has left them much more mindful of the future liquidity of their assets.”
Rightmove saw record traffic levels in April, up 35% on 2012. With choosier buyers and a lack of decent property for sale in some areas, those searching for property and researching the market got through a record 1.25 billion pages last month. Nearly 400 million of those pages were viewed on mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets, a clear sign that home-movers are fully embracing the benefits of being able to search on the move and access listings the minute they are added to Rightmove.
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