Asking prices for residential properties listed for sale in England and Wales increased by 2% in the month to early February, the slowest increase for this time of year since 2009 and well below the average 5% February uplift over the previous seven years, providing another sign of a cooling in the housing market, property website Rightmove said on Monday.
Rightmove’s House Price Index showed that the average price a home coming to market rose by £5,986 this month, taking the average asking price to £306,231, up from £300,245 the previous month.
The latest snapshot also shows that demand for property has increased, with Rightmove visits up 3% year-on-year.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, commented: “While the prices of goods in shops are rising at a faster rate, the pace of price rises in property coming to the market is slowing.
“They’re still 2.3% higher than a year ago, but perhaps we’re approaching the territory where many buyers are unable or unwilling to pay what sellers are asking, given the negative combination of rises in the cost of living, tighter lending criteria, and a dose of Brexit uncertainty.”
The latest figures show that the average price of a home in Engaland and Wales has increased by 23% or nearly £60,000 since April 2013, owed in part to the supply-demand imbalance in the housing market, a trend that looks set to continue as reflected by the fact that the number of sales agreed by estate agents fell by 3.1% in January.
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