UK House Prices Surge In February, Says Rightmove

UK House Prices Surge In February, Says Rightmove

UK property asking prices jumped 3.1% from a month earlier in February as sellers followed traditional seasonal trends of pricing high, new research showed on Monday.

The increase took the average asking price for a home in England and Wales to 230,030 pounds ($373,570), property website Rightmove said.

Asking prices had risen 0.3% in January and fallen 3% in December.

Despite the sharp increase, Rightmove said the housing market is still afflicted by poor demand, with buyers' access to mortgage finance remaining restricted.

"The start of this year is very much a repeat of 2010 and so we expect 2011 to be characterized by what may well be the new norm, with the average buyer of yesteryear locked out of the market," Rightmove said.

The number of new properties coming on to the market remained subdued in February. Average unsold stock levels per agency branch declined for the fifth consecutive month from a peak of 78 properties to the current level of 69.

Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: "Any hopes that transaction volumes may be on the springboard preparing to return to historic norms will have been dashed by lenders' predictions that 2011 lending volumes will match 2010's dire levels."

Oxford Homes Direct advertise our properties in Oxford, to rent, on Rightmove.co.uk & our own website at www.oxfordhomesdirect.co.uk