House prices rise 6.8%

A typical home in England and Wales now costs 6.8 per cent more than at the same time last year, the latest figures show.

Data from property listings site Hometrack reveals that house prices grew by 0.7 per cent in April, a slight fall from March's rise of 0.8 per cent.

Two of the main causes of the slower house price growth are further increases in affordability pressures and an above-average rise in the supply of homes for sale, the firm stated.

It found that the number of new properties coming onto the market was 5.7 per cent higher in April than during the month before, while the number of new buyers rose by 4.4 per cent.

Hometrack links this to an increased number of sellers putting their homes on the market before the introduction of home information packs in June, but claims that this could eventually lead to further property shortages.

The organisation stated: "This means that people are effectively bringing forward their decision to sell and could, in fact, lead to a worsening in the supply situation following their introduction."

Figures from estate agent Hamptons International earlier in the year indicated that there were eight buyers for every seller in the UK property market.

Landlord Mortgages “Whilst the figures are in the region that we were expecting we do not feel they should be considered independently. We will await the next House Price Index from Halifax, Nationwide and Land Registry before making further comment.”

Buy To Let Property
Buy To Let Tips

© See Terms and Conditions