FRESH evidence that Britain's housing market is past its peak emerged today, although property prices in London are nudging up again following recent falls.
The latest report from Rightmove, Britain's biggest property website, shows the average asking price of a home rose by 2% in February - traditionally a busy month for house buying. But the annual rate of increase slipped from 26.5% in January to 23.5% because of a much bigger increase (4.5%) in February last year.
In London, asking prices rose 1.2% on average in February. Over the past four months, pricier central boroughs have enjoyed a strong recovery after suffering significant price falls in the autumn. Kensington and Chelsea prices have surged by 10.3%, while in the City of Westminster they are up 4%. However, their earlier falls seem to be rippling out from the centre, with quarterly falls in cheaper boroughs such as Barnet, Haringey, Hounslow and Lewisham.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove housing expert, said: 'February's figures confirm the slowdown in the property market but support the case for a soft landing rather than a slump.'
The report also suggests this month's interest rate cut has boosted sales activity. A record number visited Rightmove's site on the Monday after the reduction. Shipside said: 'Though the cut has not been fully matched by most of the main mortgage lenders, it may have given buyers more confidence that interest rates and mortgage repayments will remain low.'
No comments:
Post a Comment