Rightmove says UK house prices on a five-year high

Rightmove says UK house prices on a five-year high

	Published : Mon, 17 Jul 2006 09:50 By : David Simms Print this Story

LONDON - House prices in the UK rose at their fastest pace in over 12 months in the period from early June to early July, according to the latest survey from property website Rightmove. The survey said the average asking price for a home in England and Wales rose by 2.9 percent in the said period.

This growth meant that the annualized rate of inflation hit double digits for the first time in 16 months and was registered at 10.6 percent. The average asking price for a house in Britain is now £217,580. However this survey is directly opposite to the one by Halifax recently, which said house prices decreased by 1.2 percent. Halifax said householders were feeling the pinch of high utility bills. But a Rightmove spokesman expressed confidence their results were better, "We expect the large rise ... to be confirmed by other indices over the next two to three months," he added.

The surge in the asking prices was because of the increased southern demand, Rightmove said. In June, the group said that prices were up 0.8 percent taking the annual gain to 6.4 percent. "There are always fewer new instructions as we enter the summer months, but this year we have not seen a corresponding fall in the number of buyers. Consequently, sellers are asking for more and getting it, especially in the south," said Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove. "The last month has seen the biggest rise in nearly five years, but it is skewed by the increases in the southern half of the country, particularly the South East where prices rocketed by over £12,000."

The biggest price rise was in the South East at 4.7 percent in the four weeks to July 8, followed by the South West at 3.8 percent. Greater London recorded a 2.9 percent increase. But on the other prices in Yorkshire and Humberside dropped 1.7 percent and East Midlands fell by 0.7 percent. Rightmove's survey was based on 144,720 asking prices in the UK for the four weeks to July 8.