The average price of a home in Britain has reached more than £350,000 for the first time.
Sellers were typically asking £354,564 for a property this month, which is 1.7 per cent or £5,760 more than last month, according to Rightmove. It is the biggest monthly increase at this time of year since March 2004.
The average price of a home with at least four bedrooms increased by 3.8 per cent or £23,619 this month, reaching £647,112.
Rightmove reported that asking prices generally were 10.4 per cent higher than a year ago — the highest figure it has recorded in any month since June 2014.
It said that asking prices were being stoked by an imbalance between buyer demand and the number of properties available for sale, making a strong market for sellers. There are more than twice as many buyers as sellers which Rightmove said was the biggest mismatch between supply and demand recorded at this time of year.
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Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, said: “Many of those who are selling in this record-breaking market obviously also face the prospect of buying again in the same market, and being in fierce competition against other buyers.
“Having a buyer for your own property, subject to contract, puts those who are buying again in a powerful position compared to buyers who have yet to sell, and agents report that these ‘power buyers’ are more likely to get the property that they want and negotiate the best deal on price.”
Kate Eales, of Strutt & Parker, the property consultancy, said there were signs of improving supply.
“We’re beginning to see incremental increases in the number of homes coming to the market as we enter spring,” she said. “The increase in demand for larger homes is evident as buyers search for more space including room for a home office.
“The trend of a significant number of people planning to work from home for three days a week or more in the longer term has created new hotspots across the country for part-time commuters including Shropshire, North Cotswolds and Suffolk. Regional price increases have been bolstered by buyers who have adapted to this competitive market by looking to neighbouring towns and villages to what may have been their preferred location.”
