'House prices in spring bounce as they rise for third month in a row'

Research has indicated that new sellers have increased their asking price for the third consecutive month during March as activity in the housing market has shown signs of being on the increase.

The average costs of a home in England and Wales rose by 0.8% of £231,790 for the four weeks up to March 12th, which followed an increase of 3.1% in February, according to property website Rightmove.

Rightmove has suggested the rise reflects an increase in activity from potential buyers, as well a shortage of supply of properties coming onto the market, as many homeowners decide not to sell for the time being.

Search activity on the group’s website hit record levels during three of the four weeks in February, as well as estate agents reporting that higher levels of enquiries and viewings were slowly converting into offers and sales.

The amount of homes put up for sale during the month also increased, although levels are still 26% below those seen before the recession.

Rightmove said the low level of new listings pointed to an absence of both forced sellers and traditional mass market ones, as people were either unable or unwilling to trade up at the moment.

The average time a property is on the market for fell from 98 days to 89 days during the month, whilst the number of unsold properties per estate agency branch increased by just one, which is a far smaller increase than is usual for this time of year.

The group said the muted rise in the number of unsold properties on estate agents' books suggested that the pace at which sales were being agreed had picked up to nearly cancel out the spring bounce in sellers.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: "The spring bounce in buyer interest and slight pick-up in supply of fresh stock suggest that renewed activity in some sectors of the property market is managing to outweigh the impact of economic uncertainty and lack of mortgage funding."

Mr Shipdale added that the large deposits that lenders are demanding from buyers has led to greater market liquidity for more expensive properties, while people selling properties that appeal to first-time buyers, such as terraced homes, are continuing to struggle.

London was the only area where asking prices didn’t increase, seeing a drop of 1.5%.

The South West saw the biggest jump, with asking prices rising by 3.3%, followed by the East Midlands at 2.8% and East Anglia at 2.2%.

Hopefully the increase in the housing market will see an increase in Housing Jobs!

Source: 24dash