Vendor confidence benefits from a Spring boost according to Home.co.uk
Home.co.uk released their latest Asking Price Index April 2017 yesterday 12th April headlined ‘Asking Prices Surge on Spring Optimism’.
In the report it points out that: Seasonal confidence has raised asking prices by +0.9% for the month of April, the largest monthly rise since March 2016. Year-on-year home price appreciation for England and Wales has made a countertrend move up to 3.0%. Overall, price rises are much more subdued this year than last. In April 2016 the annualised rate of increase of home prices was 7.5%.
Vendor confidence is benefitting from a spring boost in many regions and this effect is most apparent in the South East and South West, hpwever the London market remains subdued.
Doug Shephard, Director at Home.co.uk said: “We are living in a highly unusual economic environment. Due to artificially cheap credit, investors can currently obtain mortgages with a rate of interest lower than the real rate of inflation.
“In more ‘normal’ times we would see interest rates hiked above the rate of inflation but such is the indebtednessof the UK, the economy is too fragile to withstand such a move. As long as this situation persists, we can expect this ‘free money’ to continue to be invested in the property market in search of a decent return.