Surge in buyer demand outstripping new instructions means more price rises on the way

Surge in buyer demand outstripping new instructions means more price rises on the way

There are buyers galore – but new seller numbers are failing to keep up with demand, Rightmove is reporting this morning.

It says that the boom in buyer activity which is outstripping the number of new listings is pushing up asking prices to near record levels.

The price of property new to the market over the last month is up by 0.8%, equating to an average of £2,589, which is just £40 short of a new all-time high.

Rightmove puts the current new asking price at an average of £306,810, with first-time buyer properties averaging £193,768.

The record for the highest new asking prices was set in June 2018.

The portal, which has been recording a 7.2% rise in traffic, says that the scene is set for new price records this coming spring.

Rightmove also says that while new listings lag demand, they are starting to recover, up by 2.1% in the last month compared with the same period last year.

There were over 110,000 properties coming to the market in the latest reporting period, January 12 to February 8 – a period which for the purposes of its monthly house price index, Rightmove calls ‘February’.

Average stock per branch, including properties SSTC, is 45.6, up fractionally from 44.8 a year ago.

The uplift in new instructions is the first year-on-year rise for 13 months.

Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: “There is a boom in buyer activity outstripping the rise in the number of new sellers, which we expect to lead to a series of new price records starting next month.”