February Record House Price Rises
Feb 22,2010
House prices rose 3.2% in February – the highest monthly growth since April 2007.
The Rightmove house price index recorded annual house price growth of 6.1% - pushing the average house price up to £229,398.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove commercial director, 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.
“An average increase of over £7,000 may prove to be a bit too spicy for some buyers’ tastes, now that economic constraints have forced them to develop a simpler palate.”
He added: “Where supply remains well below historic levels, which is especially noticeable in parts of the south, upwards price pressure looks sustainable.
House prices have been pushed up by a relatively low number of buyers restricted by mortgage finance.
Mr Shipside said: “Sellers are starting to appear in greater numbers, but they must realise this market is more akin to the mortgage-rationed times of the 1970s and 1980s than to more recent times of relatively easy mortgage availability.”
Last week the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed a wave of first-time buyers hit the market in December to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday.
Despite historically low interest rates, the CML reported a typical first-time buyer now spends 29% of take home pay on mortgage repayments – down on recent highs but still higher than the 30-year average.
www.investalist.co.uk
The Rightmove house price index recorded annual house price growth of 6.1% - pushing the average house price up to £229,398.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove commercial director, 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.
“An average increase of over £7,000 may prove to be a bit too spicy for some buyers’ tastes, now that economic constraints have forced them to develop a simpler palate.”
He added: “Where supply remains well below historic levels, which is especially noticeable in parts of the south, upwards price pressure looks sustainable.
House prices have been pushed up by a relatively low number of buyers restricted by mortgage finance.
Mr Shipside said: “Sellers are starting to appear in greater numbers, but they must realise this market is more akin to the mortgage-rationed times of the 1970s and 1980s than to more recent times of relatively easy mortgage availability.”
Last week the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed a wave of first-time buyers hit the market in December to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday.
Despite historically low interest rates, the CML reported a typical first-time buyer now spends 29% of take home pay on mortgage repayments – down on recent highs but still higher than the 30-year average.
www.investalist.co.uk