UK
House Prices Situation: Market continues to be tight
and strong
UK
House Prices Forecast: Rate of growth likely to decrease
in most areas
An
analysis of house price-related news
this week reveals some contradictory reports of price
fluctuations and a strong underlying theme of limited
supply and strong ongoing buyer demand.
Buyer
Confidence Improving?
Propertyfinder.com's
monthly report for March suggests that UK home buyers
are starting to regain some of the confidence they lost
after January's shock rate rise. The report shows that
81.9 per cent of Britons expect house prices to
rise over the next year – up from 77.8
per cent in February.
The
expected growth rate has also increased,
with those surveyed expecting an average of 6.4 per
cent house price growth over the next year, up from
5.9 per cent in February.
Rightmove
Paints A Rosy Picture
Rightmove's
latest survey shows that the average rate of house
price growth increased in March to a new annual
rate of 12.2 per cent – up from 11.5 per cent
in February. This equates to a 1.5 per cent increase
on the month, and brings the average price of a home
in England and Wales to £228,183.
One
of the fastest growth areas was the north of England,
with a new average price of £155,000.
NAEA
Suggests Market May Be Shrinking
A
new survey by NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents)
provides a rather more restrained picture of the housing
market than Rightmove's survey. Data gathered
from its members shows that the average house price
has actually fallen slightly this year, from £217,955
in January to £213,259 in February.
The
number of new buyers registering with agents dropped
by 6 per cent in February, and the average number of
houses each agency had for sale was 13.6 per cent lower
than in January 2007, and 11.6 per cent lower than in
February 2006.
On
the positive side, the number of completed sales each
month has remained steady from January.
In
a separate report, RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered
Surveyors) reported that there are presently around
108,000 homes for sale in the UK. In comparison, there
were 225,000 homes for sale in February 2003.
|