This is the third consecutive increase in house prices and brings the year on year rate of house price growth to -4.2%.
Commenting on this month’s survey, Richard Donnell, Hometrack’s director of research, said, "The last six months has seen a continued improvement in housing market sentiment on the back of rising demand and a lack of housing for sale.
"Prices have firmed and the discount between sales and asking prices is back to the same level it was at the start of the credit crunch over two years ago. However, what is becoming increasingly clear from recent Hometrack surveys is a marked slowdown in the rate of growth in the volume of new buyers registering with agents. This suggests that the pent up demand that has boosted the market in recent months is starting to fade in the face of firmer pricing and fewer clear bargains.
"Over the spring and early summer agents were reporting new buyer registrations growing by an average of 7.5% per month, but the last three months have seen new buyer registrations average just 1.1% a month. While the volume of buyers on agents’ books is looking far healthier than six months ago, slower growth in demand could well reduce the upward pressure on prices in the coming months."
