Asking prices hit record high of £250,000
Asking prices have reached a new high so does this mean the housing market has recovered?
Asking prices reached an average record-high of £252,798 in June across England and Wales.
Annually prices have risen by 2.7%, according to Rightmove, and this is the first time average prices have toppled the £250,000 barrier.
Those in the south east have shot up the fastest by 14.8% and the main causes of the rise are higher buyer confidence and lower mortgage rates.
Record high prices
New houses on the property market reached an average record high in June and every region of the UK has seen an increase in prices since the start of the year.
This is the strongest start to a year since 2004 with an overall rise of 10.6% in the south and 9.2% in the north of England.
The biggest rise was seen in the south east of England where property prices went up 14.8% to an average of £329,968. This is mainly due to how close the area is to London but prices were also on the rise in other parts of the UK.
The West Midlands, for example, saw an 11.3% rise of £19,665 and there was an 11% rise of £15,134 in the north.
Miles Shipside, spokesperson for Rightmove, explained that the first half of 2013 saw little sign of the traditional north-south divide with the first-half asking price surge in the north almost equal to that of the south.
“The good news is that this indicates a wider upturn, albeit at historically low but increasing volumes. The bad news for would be buyers is that it has helped propel the average price of a property coming to market through the quarter of a million quid milestone for the first time,” he said.
Consumer confidence
One of the main reasons for the recent boom is a return of consumer confidence. There is now less uncertainty across both the UK and the world economy which means people are more likely to commit to buying and selling.
Another major factor is competition between lenders. Prices have been falling since the introduction of the Government’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) which means more people can now afford a mortgage.
Setting the right price
When selling your house it’s important to set an asking price that is in line with the market, and the key to this is research.The houses being sold on websites such as Rightmove are your competition, says Shipside, so looking at the photos, floorplan, descriptions and Google street view will show you what you will be up against to find a buyer.
You could also check Zoopla and the HM Land Registry website. These sites will give you a clearer ideas of what similar properties have sold for recently.
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Comments
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Thanks for your article, Rebecca. House prices are going up, but not by the excessive levels of 10 to 20% a year that we saw before hte 2007-08 financial crisis. What I wish to know is whether there is going to be any relaxation at all of lending criteria in the coming months? I'm not after any extra loans at all, just changing my mortgage to a better rate! Before, and even in, 2007, would-be mortgage lenders would check an individual's credit file for recent defaults or missed payments in secured lending - and they would almost ignore any missed payments of unsecured loans. But now they seem to be looking at the latter a lot now. I have not had any missed or late payment re secured lending for 4 or 5 years now! and my last defaiult was at least 4 years ago (of course, everything reported remains on one's credit file for 6 years). I do actually have quite a bit of equity now :-)
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I agree with Nick. A lot of folk are so out of their depth. My advice to anyone would be to think hard and long before buying at the moment, and never offer the asking price. This is not a sellers' market generally. It's a buyers market. We have gone Japanese. Their property market peaked in 1989-1990 and has not yet recovered despite all the hype by those with vested interests. A lot of folk are going to get wiped out I'm afraid. The Banks are still attempting to re-capitalise and will start re-possessing those with some equity before it turns on those with none. A buyer in difficulties with equity in their property is 'low hanging fruit' for the banks. Also, if anyone wishes to buy, try to nail a long term low interest deal. Otherwise, should rates begin to move up, you will see the effect of taking out a large mortgage that ticks upwards on your budget, and it isn't pretty. And incidentally, who can guarantee their job and their health for twenty years? I thought so. Can you afford insurance to cover you for the unexpected? If you can't you're putting everything on the line. The days of ' Well my house went up 10%, so I just sold and rented when I lost my job...those days are gone. I'm seeing dozens of houses bought to 'improve' and flip now stuck for over three years, with some being offered at the price they paid before the improvements. Very sad. The housing market has been totally mis-managed and is now dangerous to unsuspecting un-educated buyers. Caveat Emptor indeed!
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Asking is one thing.....getting is another. Not sure on what basis this government could be deemed worse than the last lot. At least we don't have to see Lard Prescott and Ms. Becket's ugly mugs leering at us. Prices in the north east are stable, but at 25% less than in the mad old days. I don't see change any time soon, however much the journalists want to hype.
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20 June 2013