Skip to content

UK house prices rise for first time in four months

Those selling properties in England and Wales increased their asking prices by 5.8 per cent, a rise in house prices that has not been seen since the beginning of the fourth quarter in 2007.

The rise, which is evident in February's reports, is impressive as there are a large number of properties on the market currently and the economy is reportedly slowing down.

In January, the acceleration of asking prices hit a two year low at just 3.4 per cent. This was reported by the property website Rightmove, through Reuters.

The information is contradictory from other data, including economist's speculation that the housing market here will see a drop in housing prices by some 5 per cent by the end of 2008. A cooling in the market is expected.

Another indication of the housing market is the time it takes for property to sell. According to reports, it is currently taking about 93 days for properties to sell. That is up considerably from 78 days in February of 2007, which indicates a slowing in the market.

The rise in property asking prices is the first after the Bank of England cut benchmark lending rates just a few weeks ago. The average asking price moved to £237,856 from January.

Related