Housing market rebounding was hoped to be seen after the influx of first time buyers showed up in the beginning of the year.  It was either due to a new found confidence in the housing market or primarily due to the soon to be ending stamp duty holiday that ended on March 24.  Experts had hoped the ending of the stamp duty holiday that occurred on the cusp of a usual spring buying boost would not result in a fall of demand from home buyers.

According to a recent report of the Rightmove House Price Index it revealed that the average asking price for a newly listed property has broken a record that was set four years ago.  The average asking price is up 0.5 per cent to £243,737 which is in line with the average that occurred in May of 2008 which was before the start of the recession. 

The supply of available properties for sale increased outside of London by 8.1 per cent.  The overall supply of available properties is down 30 per cent when compared to pre-recession levels of April 2007.  Asking prices for the London area reveal that demand for property there is still very high with the average asking price at a historical high hovering around half a million pounds.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said, “Asking price records are being set in the fresh-stock-starved London and South West regions, and agents report this is also the case in markets in other regions.

“Doing research in your area is essential to gauge what type of property is in demand, how quickly it is selling and how close to the asking price is being achieved.

“If only taken at face value, national averages can mask varying degrees of volatility at a regional level. The richest seams of housing market activity are concentrated around those with access to cash and finance, with a strong bias to the South and London in particular.”