House prices soar by 10%
HOUSE prices have leapt nearly 10 per cent in a year, figures will show this week.
They are being buoyed by a perfect storm of pent-up demand, the seasonal spring rush, low interest rates, more affordable property prices and evidence that the banks are at last lending again.
The Nationwide Building Society is expected to report on Thursday that house prices rose 0.5 per cent month-on-month in April, pushing the year-on-year increase to 9.8 per cent, according to think-tank Global Insight.
GENERAL ELECTION 2010: GET THE LATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS HERE...
That’s almost a full percentage point up on March. Gary Smith, president of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: “Spring has finally arrived and brought with it a much-needed boost to the housing market, particularly among sellers. It reflects growing confidence that the recovery is well underway.”
Property website Rightmove reports sellers putting up asking prices in April by 2.6 per cent, or an average £5,898, compared with March. Overall, prices are running 6 per cent higher than in the same month of 2009.
One of this year’s biggest boosts to the housing market will come from the two-year stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers spending up to £250,000 announced in the Budget.
Sales rose by 22 per cent, or 13,000 properties, to 72,000 in March from February, said HM Revenue & Customs.
The first three months of 2010 saw completed sales up 28 per cent on the first quarter of 2009, when the housing market was at its most depressed.
Borrowing is getting easier. The British Bankers’ Association is expected to report on Tuesday that mortgage approvals rose to 39,000 in March from 35,276 in February.
As prices rise, London is holding up, with 64 per cent of surveyors reporting rises over the past three months.
In less affluent areas some prices are still falling.
The biggest bounces in new-buyer inquiries are in the North, North-west, Scotland, Wales and Humberside.
Experts advise caution, however. Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, said: “We suspect prices will be erratic through 2010, particularly as more properties come on to the market, pushing the supply/demand balance towards buyers.”
Rightmove said a hung parliament could undermine the boost that normally follows a General Election.
