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Encouraged by last year's positive property market performance, sellers' asking prices are already rising quickly in London and the South East of England, according to the latest index report. Asking prices are up 0.8% overall in England in Wales in the last month. But the average annual growth fell to 7.1%. Prices are continuing to fall in the prime property market in London. The February asking price index from Home.co.uk also shows that price rises are on the up in East Anglia and the West Midlands and optimism also abounds post referendum in Scotland, where prices have jumped 1.9% in just one month. Not all regions, however, share the same upbeat sentiment. Prices are essentially static in the East Midlands, Wales and the North West, whilst in the North East, they dropped by 0.9% over the last month. Elsewhere, small price rises were observed in the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the South West at 0.7%, 0.2% and 0.2% respectively. The typical time on market for England and Wales is now 125 days, which is 18 days less than this time last year and the data also shows that supply of property for sale nationwide shows a significant uptick. Some 19% more properties were placed on the market this January than in January 2014. Greater London leads the way with a 51% increase in supply, ahead of the South East with growth of 28%, Scotland up 19% and East Anglia up 18%. According to Doug Shephard the firm’s director, high prices are encouraging potential vendors to commit. ‘Although there are clear signs that supply is beginning to outpace demand in London, as indicated by a rising median time on the market. Londoners may be attempting to cash in, but further supply will only serve to ensure a deeper correction in prices in the capital,’ he said. He pointed out that this year rising supply will make its presence felt in London and the South East, thereby placing downward pressure on prices. ‘These regions are much further on in the economic cycle than the northern regions, where price recovery remains as yet elusive. It is conceivable that we will witness a reversal of fortunes in the latter half of 2015 or beginning of 2016, wherein prices fall in Greater London at the same time as they finally rise in the North, as investors target better value regional markets,’ he explained. He believes that the best prospects for growth this year probably lie in Middle England in regions such as East Anglia, East Midlands, the South West, West Midlands and perhaps Yorkshire. ‘It may be argued that these regions are still in the throes of the recovery phase, as supply remains low and prices have not yet risen too far,’ he said. The worst growth prospects are most likely to be in prime central London, where an abundance of unsold stock is whittling away at property values. ‘For the time being, the mmminvestment outlook for… Continue reading →