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U.K. Asking Prices Rise Again

The North-South divide has seen stronger buyer activity in northern regions

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Houses in Essex, England

Ethel Davies/Getty Images
Houses in Essex, England
Ethel Davies/Getty Images

Asking prices in the U.K. have reached another new high, as the spring season closed with strong sales and high demand in parts of the region, according to Rightmove’s house price index released Monday.

The average asking price of a new-to-the-market property so far in June is up 0.4% to £309,439 (US$410,070), setting a record high for the third consecutive month, the online real estate database said.  

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"Sales agreed by estate agents overall in May have bounced back from a slower start to the year and while still slightly below May last year, they are ahead of 2016. This is a pleasingly strong flourish at the end the spring selling season given the political uncertainty and stretched buyer affordability," said Miles Shipside, Rightmove’s director and housing market analyst, in the report.

But if you dig a little deeper, Mr. Shipside said, it becomes apparent that the main driver of sales is strong buyer demand in the "comparatively stock-starved northern half of Britain’s housing market," he added.

The north-south divide has seen strong buyer activity in northern regions shrinking available stock by an average of 4.3% when compared to a year ago, giving buyers less flexibility and sellers upward pricing power, the report said.

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Southern regions meanwhile have seen stock levels increase by an average of 17.5% compared to a year ago, putting power in buyers’ hands and downward price pressure on the market.

Property inventory was up most in the East of England, where there was 24.9% more stock available in May than at the same time last year, according to the report. Inventory dropped most in Scotland and Wales, down 10.4% and 10.3% respectively.

"With the year at mid-point, the 2018 summary so far is that the chances of sellers finding a buyer in the northern regions seem to have held up very well against the previous year, but market conditions are clearly more challenging for sellers in much of the south," Mr. Shipside said.