Average House Price Breaks Through £300,000 Mark

The average asking price of a property new to the market in England and Wales has broken through the £300,000 mark for the first time, according to new data.

The average house price is now £303,190, says Rightmove.

The news arrives exactly ten years since new asking prices passed the £200,000 barrier. This means that house prices have soared by 50% in a decade.

Despite the housing market crash occurring during this period, new asking prices did not go back down below the £200,980 reported in 2006 when prices fell.

Figures also show that average wage growth has been significantly lower than house price inflation over the last ten years, rising by just 22%.

Rightmove has found that new asking prices increased by 1.3% on February’s figure – the second highest monthly rise seen at this time of year.

The director of Rightmove, Miles Shipside, comments: “On average, 30,000 properties have come to market each week over the past month, up by 3% on this time last year. But there are insufficient numbers of newly listed properties in many parts of the country to meet demand.

“Visits to Rightmove are up by 14% in early March compared to the same period in 2015, so it’s no surprise that those buyers who can borrow more or can find some extra cash are keeping the price merry-go-round spinning, even though increasing numbers of aspiring home movers cannot afford the ride.”¹

Surprisingly, the rise in new asking prices is not being driven by London, where the market is stagnant.

Six out of ten regions have experienced house price growth, while three of the top four are northern regions – the West Midlands, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber came after the South West, and ahead of all other southern regions.

Although new asking prices in the capital have remained steady month-on-month, homes in London are still worth more than double the average, at a huge £644,045 – an annual increase of 11%. This is the greatest rate of annual house price growth of anywhere in England and Wales.

Rightmove’s research also shows that the average time to sell a property last month was 68 days, down from 79 in the same month last year. In London, the typical time a house is on the market is 47 days, lower than at any point last year.

Average stock per agent – including properties under offer or sold subject to contract – was 54 in February, down from 59 last year.

Last month, Rightmove reported that the average house price was almost at £300,000, and expected the barrier to be broken soon. It will be interesting to see how prices move on from the current record high.

¹ http://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/300000-milestone-hits-new-high