Homes up £12,000 in a year as lack of property for sale pushes up prices - and agent forecasts an 18% rise by 2019
08-21-2015
- House prices up 5.7% annually, according to ONS
- Average price of a home rises by £1,000 a month over the past year
- East of England, Northern Ireland and South East see highest inflation
- Estate agent Knight Frank forecasts house prices to rise by 18.2% by 2019
By Simon Lambert for Thisismoney.co.uk
House prices rose by £1,000 a month over the past year with the East of England recording the biggest gains, according to new official figures.
A separate report today from estate agents Knight Frank forecast house price to rise by 18.2 per cent between this year and 2019.
House price gains have eased back over the past year but property values continue to rise at a faster rate than wages, pushing buyers to stretch even further to afford a move.
Leader of the pack: The East of England is seeing the highest house price inflation in the UK, according to the ONS
Ratcheting up: Estate agent Knight Frank forecasts prices to continue rising over the next five years, albeit at a more modest rate than during the 2000s boom years.
The ONS said that the average price for properties bought by first-time buyers increased by 5.1 per cent over the year to June 2015, to £213,000, compared to a 4.8 per cent rise the previous month.
Home movers paid £321,000 on average, up 6 per cent on a year earlier, which compares to a 5.9 per cent rise the previous month.
The cost of new-build homes was up 9.5 per cent in the year to June. Existing properties are rising in price at a slower rate – up by 5.4 per cent annually.
However, new-build buyers are still paying less than those buying existing homes, with average prices standing at £272,000 and £277,000, respectively.
Jonathan Hopper, of Garrington Property Finders, said that the traditional summer lull had failed to dent prices but the prospect of rising interest rates would take some steam out of the market.
He said: ‘With demand far outstripping supply at most price levels, it’s tempting to see this as a seller’s market. But there’s nothing inevitable about the current price inflation.
‘In several regions, seller expectations have begun to outstrip what buyers are willing to pay – causing some overconfident vendors to be surprised at how value-conscious buyers are. Buyer appetite and confidence remain strong, but househunters are being much more sober in their offering behaviour than in the last boom.’
Mind the gap: House prices vary substantially across the UK, as this ONS chart shows