Rightmove September House Price Index, key points:
* Average asking price rises by just 0.2% (£526) to £214,566
* Flatter prices and fall in number of properties for sale
* Annual rate of increase rises to 9.8%
Rightmove measured 123,168 asking prices, which it claims is around 75% of the UK market, based on properties put on sale by estate agents from 13th August to 9th September 2006 and advertised on rightmove.co.uk. Rightmove believes that this month's small rise in average national asking prices gives further evidence that the 2006 price surge is coming to an end and forecasts that the annual increase will fall to 8% by year end as sellers price more aggressively to attract buyers before Christmas.
Miles Shipside, Commercial Director of Rightmove comments: "Asking prices are at a virtual standstill. The market appears to be correcting affordability issues itself and does not need further intervention from the Bank of England. At this pivotal stage it is likely to do more harm than good. First time buyers were the first to be edged out of the market as prices reached record levels. There are now signs that current prices and the increasing costs of home ownership are also affecting the ability of potential sellers to trade up. Consequently, fewer properties are coming to the market. Rightmove measured 123,000 properties newly marketed in the last month. This is the lowest number of new instructions we have seen since January. A shortage such as this would normally lead to substantial price rises, even in the traditionally quiet summer months. However, as stretched buyer affordability starts to bite, there is the unusual dynamic of falling supply with a price standstill as opposed to rises. Average unsold property stocks per branch fell from 65 in July to 63 last month, with estate agents reporting more potential sellers hesitant to place their property on the market."
