Rightmove: north-south divide in property asking prices continues

The property website's March House Prices Index shows the average asking price increasing, but this masks big regional variations.

Property website rightmove’s March House Price Index shows the average property asking price across England and Wales has increased by 1.6% since February and by 2.2% since last March.

The average asking price for March reached £236,939, below last autumn’s recent peak of £239,672, but up by £12,879 on January.

However, this masks a continuing north-south divide in asking prices. While London sellers have increased their prices by 7.3% since last March, asking prices in the West Midlands have fallen by 2.9% and prices in the East Midlands have dropped by 2.2%.

Once you get north of Watford Gap, asking prices have only increased in the north of England (0.9%) and Yorkshire and Humberside (0.1%).

Meanwhile, prices have increased in East Anglia by 3.5%, in the south east by 2.9% and in the south west by 1.5%.

The average time a property is on the market across England and Wales is now heading below the 90-day mark, having peaked at well over 100 days in January. In London, it is already less than 80 days.

But property supply is still limited, with an average of 68 properties per estate agent, down from 78 in July last year.

Rightmove says the end of the Stamp Duty exemption for first-time buyers later this week will almost certainly have an effect on the lower end of the market. It says over half of prospective first-time buyers have a deposit of between £15,000 and £40,000 but they will need to consider the extra cost unless measures are announced in Wednesday’s Budget.

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