New research from Rightmove appears to indicate that house prices are on the increase. Asking prices rose 3.5 percent in September and new vendors ask an average £8,310 extra- this is the largest rise in 8 months.
This is a reverse on the Summer months which showed a significant fall of house prices coming on to the market being reduced by 4.6 percent or on average £11,377 less.
The asking price of a property may be far above the actual price received and interestingly, the online website found that 40% of potential buyers would not even arrange a view of the property, if they deemed it to be over-priced.
Rob Killeen, Business Manager at Capital Fortune mortgages in response to the research states “It is not clear at this early juncture, whether such a lift in the optimism of sellers is an indication of fresh life in the market and only time will tell. It may have more to do with estate agents looking to bring stock to the market and hopeful sellers liking more what they hear, than any national inflationary price pressures”
A spokesperson for Rightmove said the upturn in asking prices is most likely down to the continued shortage of new property supply. He added that “this stock-building could backfire if they agree to over-ambitious pricing to please a seller, as it could curb a potential buyer’s enthusiasm to arrange a viewing if the over-priced alarm bell starts ringing.”
There remains growing concern that "estate agents are reporting that mortgages are still no easier to obtain, with risk-averse lenders nit-picking every detail of the mortgage application paperwork, even from buyers who seem squeaky clean” stated the Agency.
