ASKING PRICES FOR UK HOMES SHOW RECORD RISE, AS DEMAND EXCEEDS SUPPLY

Asking prices for homes coming on to the market in Britain rose by a record 2.3% in February.

This is the largest monthly increase in the last 20 years. The average advertised price for a home increased by ￡7,785 to ￡348,804. Within the last 12 months, asking prices have increased by 9.5%.

While the number of new property listings increased by 11% during the month, the number of people looking to buy a property rose by 16%.

“This new record means that average asking prices have now risen by nearly ￡40,000 in the two years since the pandemic started, compared to just over ￡9,000 in the previous two years,” a spokesperson said.

The figures show a widening gap between the number of buyers and sellers that property experts say will maintain house price inflation this year well above annual salary increases.

?First-time buyers are expected to lose out in the race to buy the few properties on the market.

Wealthier buyers who have saved large deposits during the pandemic are among those caught by the “fear of missing out.”

Tim Bannister, the Director of Data Services at Rightmove, said as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, “we now have a group of movers who are looking to return closer to major cities, or at least within comfortable commuting distance of their workplaces.”

Many estate agents have reported struggling to secure asking prices during the pandemic, but the shortage of homes for sale could lead to bidding wars and the return of gazumping in hotspot areas.

Nationwide Building Society said sale prices in January were up by 11% on the same month in the previous year, giving house price inflation in 2022 the strongest start since 2005.?