Asking prices up 2.4% as vendors mourn loss of equity

The average asking price of a home in England and Wales has increased for the fourth consecutive month, according to Rightmove.

The property website has reported a 2.4% rise in the four weeks to 9th May, equating to a jump of £5,000 in the average vendor’s ambitions and taking the average asking price to £227,441.

The increase is the largest recorded by Rightmove in May since 2003, when house prices were booming, and the website attributes the rise to vendors’ concerns about the amount of equity remaining in their homes after months of falling prices.

Of the sellers listed on the firm’s website, 59,000 actually reduced asking prices by over 2% during the four week period, with the average amount shaved off a painful 6.8%.

Meanwhile, the number of properties listed for sale by Rightmove remains low with just 61,000 new homes placed on the market over the four weeks, compared with 135,000 a year earlier.

The company’s commercial director, Miles Shipside, says: “The long-term worry is that the supply side of the housing market is now compromised for several years to come.”

Discuss this in the Finance Markets forums

Story link: Asking prices up 2.4% as vendors mourn loss of equity