UK property prices at highest since 2005

Photo credit: Sonia Fernandes

The company’s latest report shows that UK house prices jumped 3 per cent from July to August 2013. The average price is now £205,006, 7 per cent higher than August last year and the highest they have been since eight years ago.

After a seasonal dip, London continued to drive the market growth, with average values in the capital soaring 5 per cent in just one month to hit an average of £396,769.

Buyers are on the up as well, as confidence spreads throughout the market. New buyers rose 22 per cent year-on-year, according to Sequence. In London? That figure was even higher, outstripping the number of new sellers coming onto the market by more than three times.

As buyers continue to outnumber supply, particularly in the capital, prices are set to keep on rising this year, predicts David Plumtree, Chief Executive at Sequence: “Housebuilders can’t build properties quickly enough and buyers are snapping them up quickly recognising the finite resource. This will keep prices rising, which are now at their highest point since 2005, having smashed the £200,000 barrier last month.”

 

Other house price news this week:

 

Property prices in Madrid plunge 60pc

Property prices in Madrid have plunged 60 per cent, according to new figures.

Data from Tecnocasa shows that values of resale property in the Spanish capital have continued to fall in 2013. Prices dropped 12 per cent in the 12 months to June, taking the average cost to €1,596 per square metre – 60 per cent below the market peak in 2007.

Source: Spanish Property Insight

 

Sydney property prices to climb up to 20pc next year

Sydney property prices will climb up to 20 per cent in 2014, SQM Research has forecast.

The Australian company’s report suggests that the capital city will lead the housing recovery, which began at the end of last year. “Sydney, though, is turning into a beast unto itself,” said author Louis Christopher”. Indeed, the city’s price growth outperformed expectations this year thanks to historically low interest rates. Now, prices are expected to boom by 15 to 20 per cent.

Source: News.com.au