Asking prices for UK homes show record rise, as demand exceeds supply

theguardian.com:

Asking prices for homes coming on to the market in Britain rose by a record 2.3% in February, according to the property website Rightmove.

The listing site said it was the biggest monthly increase in the 20 years it has kept records and meant the average advertised cost of a home was up by £7,785, to £348,804. Over the past 12 months, asking prices have gone up by 9.5%.

While the number of new property listings increased by 11% during the month, the number of people looking to buy a property rose by 16%, the website said.

“This new record means that average asking prices have now risen by nearly £40,000 in the two years since the pandemic started, compared to just over £9,000 in the previous two years,” a spokesperson said.

The figures show a widening gap between the number of buyers and sellers that property experts say will maintain house price inflation this year well above annual salary increases.

First-time buyers are expected to lose out in the race to buy the few properties on the market.

Wealthier buyers, many of whom have saved large deposits during the pandemic, are among those caught by the “fear of missing out”, which Rightmove said would continue to drive prices higher over the coming months.

Tim Bannister, the firm’s director of property data, said as Covid restrictions were lifted “we now have a group of movers who are looking to return closer to major cities, or at least within comfortable commuting distance of their workplaces”.

Many estate agents have reported struggling to secure asking prices during the pandemic, but the shortage of homes for sale could lead to bidding wars and the return of gazumping in hotspot areas.

London property prices, which had stagnated after the Brexit vote in 2016, recorded the