Rightmove: Southern sellers push up asking prices

Monday, 20 November 2006 12:00 AM

Sellers in the south are pushing up asking prices across the country, according to a leading online property site.

Rightmove's monthly analysis of asking prices shows properties in London were up 18.2 per cent over the last year, compared to the England and Wales average of 12.4 per cent.

Asking prices for homes in London are now at £344,949, over 1.5 times the average asking price for England and Wales of £222,333.

However, it was house prices in Yorkshire and the Humber that went up fastest from October to November, rising 3.8 per cent, over two percentage points ahead of the 1.5 per cent average for England and Wales.

Property prices rose in every region of England, with property prices in Wales bucking the trend, and dropping 0.1 per cent.

"Southern sellers are responsible for pushing up the national growth rate into double figures," said Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove.

"With the northern housing markets already stabilising, and the south being driven ever higher by shortage of supply, the interest rate rise can only add to the cost of home ownership. Until more suitable properties are built to satisfy the demands of the buoyant southern economy, their prices will continue to rise."

With affordability becoming an ever-increasing issue, Rightmove advises first-time buyers to look to the north for their first home.

The property site explained: "The north is the best region for first-time buyers to minimise the additional costs of home ownership. Over 35 per cent of properties are below £125,000 [the starting level of stamp duty land tax], compared with the national average of 16 per cent.

"In contrast only around two per cent of London's property stock falls below the starting band of £125,000."

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