House prices in England and Wales rose by an annual 1.8 percent this month, their fastest pace of increase since January 2008, property data company Hometrack said yesterday.
Monthly house price growth slowed, however, to 0.2 percent this month from 0.3 percent last month on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, Hometrack’s monthly survey of estimates of realistic selling prices from estate agents and surveyors showed.
This monthly rise was driven by a 0.6 percent increase in London, whereas prices in other regions were more typically flat or up by just 0.1 percent. Yorkshire and Humberside, in northern England, recorded a 0.1 percent price fall.
Hometrack said the supply of property coming on to the market rose by 3.7 percent, outstripping a 1 percent increase in new buyers registering with agents.
“Fewer bargain properties on the market ... when set against a backdrop of sluggish economic growth and rising unemployment levels, have led to increased caution among buyers,” Hometrack said, noting the May 6 election was also causing buyers to wait.
“The bounce in market confidence over 2009 was all about pent-up demand feeding back into an under-supplied market. However, the fundamental issues which have plagued the economy for some time still remain,” Hometrack’s director of research Richard Donnell said.
Mortgage lenders Halifax and Nationwide have reported that property prices have risen almost 10 percent from a low hit about a year ago, but access to finance is still hard for many buyers after the credit crunch.
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