Property price jumps

Property prices jump as home buyers and sellers become impatient

The average asking price for UK homes jumped by almost £3,500 in April, making it the biggest month-on-month uplift in over a year, new data has revealed.

Rightmove's House Price Index reveals that the average price of new-to-the-market properties increased by an average of £3,447 in April and is the biggest month-on-month increase since March 2018.

The average asking price of a property is now £305,449 which is still 0.1 per cent lower than a year ago, despite the spring bounce in April.

Home buyers and sellers are 'bored of Brexit' and cannot keep putting their lives on hold whilst negotiations continue, according to estate agents.

Rightmove said it is usual to see prices increase at this time of year, but this is still the biggest increase seen for the month of April since 2016.

But it said the uncertain political backdrop continues to hold back the market, with new seller asking prices, the number of properties coming to market and the number of sales agreed all below this time last year

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director, said: "The rise in new seller asking prices reflects growing activity as the market builds momentum, egged on by the arrival of Easter."

He added: "They are often second-steppers out-growing their first property and it gets harder to postpone a move with growing children.

"They may have already delayed for a year or two waiting for Brexit clarity, and understandably their patience is wearing thin."

Mr Shipside said the Brexit extension could also now give hesitating home movers encouragement "that there is now a window of relative certainty in uncertain times.

Sam Mitchell, chief executive of online estate agent Housesimple, predicted that a lengthy Brexit delay might actually lead to an activity spike, as buyers and sellers who have been holding off decide they've had enough of waiting.

This news follows the latest data from the Office for National Statistics house price Index where house price growth dropped to 1.7% in January which is the lowest rate of annual growth since June 2013.

Jeff Knight, marketing director at Foundation Home Loans, said that hesitation was certainly taking over with buyers, but argued that it would be wrong to put all of the blame for the market's troubles on Brexit.

"The fact is that lack of supply will continue to inflate prices beyond the reach of first-time buyers and we shouldn't lose sight of this," he added.