Prices in the capital rose 1 per cent to £262,989, up from £260,375 in February, with a continued shortage of stock the main reason behind the increase. As confidence remains high and sellers are opting to enter the market before the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) haart is expecting activity levels to rise substantially during and post the Easter break.
Paul Smith, chief executive of haart, commented: “The London housing market has had a strong start to the year, with prices showing no signs of slowing, despite the recent succession of interest rate rises. Shortage of stock continues to be a driving factor with family homes particularly in demand. However, March saw the start of the predicted supply and demand ratio rebalance as sellers begun to realise the benefits of putting their property on the market before 1 June to avoid the added cost of the compulsory Home Information Packs.”
First-time buyers are continuing to struggle to get a foot on the ladder though and levels fell to 25 per cent in March, the lowest for a year.
Smith added: “The confidence of first-time buyers remains dented as they continue to be priced out of the market with prices rising for the eighth consecutive month. This group needs a period of stability to reinstate their confidence.”
