Asking prices increased by 0.3% month on month in March in England and Wales and by 0.1% in Scotland, with only London seeing a fall and no change in the South East, the latest index shows.
Year on year asking prices are now 2% higher in England and Wales and 2.3% higher in Scotland, to an average of £306,249 and £181,555 respectively, according to the data from the Home.co.uk index.
The index shows strong asking price growth in the North West, the East Midlands, the East of England and Yorkshire along with a strong rise in supply in the East, up 21%, and the South West up22%.
The strongest annual rise in asking prices was in the East Midlands with an increase of 6.1%, taking the average to £228,340, followed by Wales up 5.1% to £194,654 and the West Midlands also up 5.1% to £238,827.
Asking prices increased year on year by 4.8% in Yorkshire and the Humber to £190,786, by 4.2% in the North West of England to £196,789 and by 3.5% in the South West to £321,290.
In Greater London asking prices were down 0.1% month on month and down 1.9% year on year to an average of £531,995 while in the South East asking prices were unchanged month on month but are still up 1.3% compared to a year ago at £401,089.
The index report also shows that overall the supply of property for sale is up 10% year on year on year led by the South West and the East of England. But it suggest that this could slow down these markets.
With price growth led by the East and West Midlands, the report says that of these booming markets will soon reach maturity and price growth will level out. The tell-tale signs are increases in supply and this means properties will begin to spend longer on the market year on year.
‘Price growth will then taper off as supply overwhelms demand, first in the East Midlands and then in the West Midlands,’ the report says.
‘By contrast, the North West and Yorkshire are very much in the ascendency and those regional markets still have a long way to run. Manchester is a particularly hot market. The typical flat price there has increased by 23% over the last 12 months,’ it points out.
‘Yields are still attractive and this will entice many more investors to buy up the available stock, thereby driving prices higher. The room for growth in the North West and Yorkshire is considerable, as average prices have risen by only 2.6% and 2.5% respectively over the last 10 years,’ it adds.
