House prices have risen by 0.4% in February, according to the latest survey from Hometrack, the housing research and data company. This is the third consecutive month of house price growth and the highest monthly rise since June 2004. House prices now stand at £161,700.
Demand runs well ahead of supply - "A key driver of higher house price inflation over February has been a surge in the number of new buyers coming into the market", comments Richard Donnell, Director of Research. Nationally, the number of buyers registering with agents rose by 26% over February.
Their analysis shows that London prices rose by 0.9% on the back of a 35% rise in new buyers, but only a 10% rise in the number of homes for sale. A similar mis-match between supply and demand resulted in prices move higher by 0.3% in the South East and 0.5% in East Anglia. In all these regions, where prices are rising, the average time taken to sell property has been declining - in London the average is under 5 weeks for the first time since July 2004.
However, in other areas the difference between supply and demand is less stark and the pricing of housing is still adjusting after the phase of very strong growth over the period 2000 to 2004; the time taken to sell property remains above average and achieved prices are still below the average for the last few years.
