Insurance News Archive
End of 'mini boom' in UK property?
With its latest asking-price index showing monthly growth of only 0.3 per cent in July, Rightmove has suggested the 'mini boom' in UK property market is coming to an end.
Growth in prices has not been this slow since December 2006, the property firm said, when a similar monthly increase in prices was recorded.
On a month-to-month basis, price growth is down from 0.8 per cent in June, while annual growth has also shrunk.
This now stands at 10.3 per cent and is down 2.9 per cent from June's figures.
With the average asking price for a property reportedly at just over £240,000, Miles Shipside, Rightmove commercial director, said: "This is further evidence that the 'mini boom' is coming to an end. As long as employment remains buoyant, prices are likely to remain broadly at these levels.
"However depending on local supply and demand, sellers are going to have to duck and weave with their asking prices, especially if there is another rise in interest rates."
Some good news for investors was offered by Mr Shipside as he claimed the likelihood of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee voting for antoher rate hike is reducing due to indications the property market is softening.
However, that is not the case across the UK, with Rightmove adding in their report that London is continuing to show strong growth and is difficult to compare to the rest of the country as prices have risen nearly twice as fast in the capital as any other region in the past 12 months.
24 Jul 2007
