The four-week period saw 106,000 new sellers and their estate agents increase average asking prices by 1.3 per cent (£2,577) to £197,539, a new record level. A third consecutive price rise has added £8,030 (4.2 per cent) to the average asking price this year.
Miles Shipside, commercial director at Rightmove, explained that the survey showed property buyers appeared to have understood the Bank of England’s message to be more conservative with their spending.
It is still a buyers’ market though with an oversupply of property left over from the slower nine months previously. Consequently transactions are below the normal levels for this time of year.
He added: “It will take much higher interest rates or rises in unemployment to significantly lower sellers’ price aspirations.
“As neither of these economic factors are on the horizon, buyers will have to continue shopping around to find the sellers who are keener to sell.”
Richard Sexton, national business development manager at e.surv, said: “We have to take positives from this survey, it shows confidence firming up.
“There is often a pre-election blip but this doesn’t seem to be happening this time, people seem to have got past the idea that there will be a market crash.”
The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) reported that the housing market remained steady over the last month.
Richard Hair, president of the NAEA, said: “Buyers remain the dominant force and are discovering they often have a wide choice of properties to choose from.
“However, with vendors starting to include realism in their asking prices, sales are back on the up.”
