According to the latest index, asking prices in England and Wales increased by 0.4% in May and in Scotland by 0.6%, with more continued growth happening in the regions rather than the capital.
Year-on-year England’s asking prices saw an increase of 2.8% (to an average of £305,885), championed by England’s East, the East Midlands and the West Midlands, according to the figures by Home.co.uk.
The overall trend shows an improvement in the market conditions especially in England’s North where marketing times have improved considerably. The region has seen a significant push in prices due to a an increase in demand coupled with very limited supply.
The North West saw a price rise of 3.7% year-on-year and Yorkshire experienced an increase of 2.9%. On top of that, marketing times have dropped to the levels last seen in 2008 and a steady recovery is expected to follow suit.
Doug Shephard,director at Home.co.uk, explained:
“Whilst recent price rises in the regions indicate that there remains much confidence and momentum, the drag effect of sliding prices in Greater London means the trend towards near zero year on year price growth appears inevitable.”
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“Moreover, rapidly rising inflation due to a weaker post-Brexit pound means that, overall, capital values will not rise in real terms. Looking forward towards the autumn and winter, we expect significant price falls in London and the South East, and these will impact negatively on the national figures. In June 2016 the annualised rate of increase of home prices was 6.8%; today the same measure is just 2.8%,” he then added.
And finally, the index also showed that the amount of properties entering the UK market in May had dropped slightly compared to April, whilst supply overall has seen a 5% increase over the last twelve months.
