Average asking prices on a British home rose 4.1% on a year ago in the period from mid-March to mid-April, down slightly from 4.3% in the preceding 30 day period, a new survey showed today.
Property Web site Rightmove said asking prices rose 1.1% from the prior period after a previous 0.9% gain, taking the new average price to £205,674 sterling. Those changes are not adjusted to reflect seasonality in the market.
The data are the latest to suggest the UK property market has picked up again after a year and a half of mostly sideways price movements, although Rightmove cautioned that 'there are indications that the spring surge is losing some momentum'.
Where prices were rising, it was driven by affluent home-owners who are not experiencing the same affordability constraints as first-time buyers, Rightmove said. 'Some buyers have both the confidence and the ability to pay more for the right property, resulting in an affluent area mini-boom which is masking affordability constraints and driving national average prices to record levels,' it said.
Asking prices are rising quickly in London, up 7.7% on a year ago, the website said. One borough, Islington, saw a rise in house prices of over 20% on a year earlier.
Other measures of house prices from mortgage lenders have also shown gradually rising house price inflation. The Halifax said earlier this month that house prices were up 6.2% year on year in the three months to March.
The latest surge in UK property prices is one of the key reasons why most analysts no longer expect an interest rate cut from the Bank of England for several months, lest they re-stoke an already resurgent market into another boom. House prices have more than doubled since the late 1990s.
