Monday, 18 March 2013

HOUSE PRICES UP £142 A DAY

Britain's homes have boomed to a record high with prices rising £142 a day in the last four weeks, today's Daily Express reveals.New figures show values eclipsed the previous peak of 2008 and a mood of optimism is sweeping through the housing market, experts say. The average house in England and Wales rose £3,969 in a month, according to property search website Rightmove's House Price Index, released today. With mortgages becoming cheaper, thanks to the Government's lending scheme and greater availability of loans, buyers are more confident properties will keep their value, states the report. And in further signs that the market is gaining momentum, the Council of Mortgage Lenders last week reported that home loans have got off to their best start since 2008. Miles Shipside, Rightmove director, is quoted as saying that with new sellers asking for more than ever before as we enter the traditionally busy spring market, and an expectation among home-movers of price stability or growth, there is now a bedrock upon which confidence and momentum appear to be building. Rightmove figures show the average asking price for a property in the four weeks to mid-March was £239,710, edging above the £239,655 for the same period in 2008, before the credit crunch. The Rightmove report also found home-movers are increasingly optimistic that houses will gain value this year, with more than a quarter believing prices will edge higher compared with just 11 per cent who expect decreases. A further 60 per cent of those moving house think prices will be "more or less the same" in a year's time. The report also shows that the time it takes to sell a hjouse has fallen 10 days to 80 compared to this time last year. Adam Offer, managing director of leading South West estate agents Besley Hill, agrees with Miles Shipside that, although some price gains in the first half of the year often fall away in the second half, this year it seems likely that the air of optimism will result in gains being consolidated.

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