Property asking prices were up £2,406 and have now experienced a year on year increase of 6.3% or £14,432, the highest since November 2007.
All the signs are for a strong market with new sellers and their agents being optimistic on price expectations and over the first two weeks of January 2014, both website traffic and email leads to agents and developers hit records for the time of year, up nearly 20% on 2013.
The data also shows that at 58 properties per branch, the market currently has the lowest stock of property for sale since February 2007.
The rise takes the average asking price nationally to £243,861 but there is still some regional differences with the North and East Anglia seeing price falls of 1% and 0.2% respectively.
Yorkshire and Humberside have seen the biggest monthly increase with asking prices up 4.5%, followed by the South West and the South East both up 2.2%. In the West Midlands there was an increase of 1.7%, in the East Midlands 1.3%, and in the North West and Wales 0.1%.
Greater London saw a more subdued 0.2% rise but taking the average price to £514,704 but there has been a 7.4% increase year on year. In London the biggest increase was in Tower Hamlets, up 3.6%, followed by a 3.4% rise in Barking and Dagenham and a 3.1% rise in Richmond.
The index shows that it is the high priced areas of London that are seeing asking prices fall. They were down 8.3% in Westminster, down 6.9% in Kensington and Chelsea, down 4.8% in Islington, 4.7% in Brent and 4.6% in Hammersmith and Fulham.
‘The early statistics for any new year are keenly anticipated as they indicate the shape of things to come in the year ahead. With a very strong start in both the price of property coming to market and the number of people looking at what’s on the market, it suggests that the new year resolution for many is to make 2014 their year to move,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst.
He pointed out that the 1% increase this month compares to a rise of just 0.2% or 439) in January 2013 and over the last 10 years January has seen an average fall of 0.2%.
‘New sellers’ and their agents’ price expectations are a lead indicator of optimism, and the largest rise seen at the beginning of a year since the start of the Rightmove House Price Index in 2002 suggests the anticipated demand is here, and consequently prices are ticking upwards. As a result more home owners will find themselves in a position where their growth in equity may help to fund a move,’ Shipside said.
‘This is the strongest start to a new year for house prices that Rightmove has ever recorded, and that will get some potential sellers salivating at the thought of better moving prospects,’ he added.
But he also pointed out that the sums have to stack up for most property owners before they will consider a sale. Some will have to achieve a higher sales price to fund a move while others will have a figure in their heads that they’re not prepared to go below.
‘With buyer demand on the up and price levels having hardened, the likelihood of finding a buyer at an acceptable price will be a potential boost to new seller numbers, especially for those trading up and needing a decent deposit to access more competitive mortgage rates. Help to Buy phase two will assist new supply further by helping to increase the availability of low deposit mortgages for existing home owners, finally enabling trapped sellers to move,’ he explained.
‘Activity on Rightmove is a dependable barometer of demand with intending buyers and sellers sussing out their local market. As well as a significant increase in activity on the Rightmove website, the growth of home-hunting from mobile devices continues unchecked with a 40% rise in leads to agents from phones and tablets. People seem to have an increased urgency for information about property, and are using whatever device is closest to hand,’ he added.
The index show that average stock for sale per estate agency branch fell to its lowest level since February 2007, having fallen from 64 properties a year ago to a current level of 58. With those coming to market in areas of short supply having additional pricing power and their estate agents looking to replenish their dwindling stocks, those considering a move in 2014 should note the potential for prices to be considerably higher within a few months.
‘Prospective movers in popular locations could find the price to enter the market or the difference to trade up a lot more enticing if they act sooner rather than later. With the lowest available stocks for sale on agents’ books for seven years and the new year showing that the signals are set for a busy spring, buyers in those areas with some pricing legs left will benefit from acting early,’ said Shipside.
