UK home asking prices jump in January, but all is not well
The Chancellor’s stamp-duty reform has stoked demand for homes but all is not quite well in the housing sector, according to Rightmove.
Over the first eleven days of the year visits to the property website rose by 10%.
As well, the average asking price of a property coming to market jumped by 1.4% to £273,275, an unusually large increase, buoyed by a stock of homes for sale at historically low levels. Asking prices tend to fall at the start of the year.
Prices also got a boost from demand for appealing properties in popular locations. However, that was in part due to insufficient new build over the last few decades. Buyers are simply not satisfied with some of what is on offer.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove's director, pointed out to Sharecast how “some people can’t afford to trade-up” and the fact that should prices rises then that will tend to help sellers more than buyers.