The £6,923 jump in the past four weeks is confirmation that Britain is enjoying a housing boom.
The £1,750 weekly uplift puts the price of a typical three-bedroom semi at £252,418, according to analysts Rightmove.
The
biggest leap was recorded in London where new sellers added an extra
£50,484 to their average asking prices this month. Experts said the rise
was being driven by renewed interest from buyers following the
introduction of the Government’s Help To Buy mortgage scheme.
Fears of a housing bubble
were also eased as the number of new sellers coming to market was up
eight per cent – although shortages were driving up prices in some
regions.
James Hall, director of estate agents
Fishneedwater, said: “Wow, the property market is back, and then some.
We’re seeing a huge amount of pent-up demand hit the market at the same
time.
“People feel a lot more confident about the economy and, due to the introduction of Government schemes, are finally able to get mortgage finance.
“Even mortgage rates at higher loan-to-values are exceptional.
“People
are piling back into property. Owners and sellers will be pinching
themselves.
Bidding wars are becoming an everyday occurrence in some
areas of the UK. There’s just not enough property going round and this
is sending prices ever higher and creating levels of interest for
individual properties not seen for many years.”
Bidding wars are becoming more regular as there is not enough property to fuel demand [GETTY]
Government initiatives like the £80billion Funding For Lending Scheme and the £12billion Help To Buy plan have helped push mortgage lending to a five-year high, figures showed last week.
Buyers taking advantage of record low interest
rates and easier borrowing criteria meant total home loans hit an
estimated £49.3billion in the three months to September, the Council of
Mortgage Lenders said.
That was a third higher than the same period last year and the greatest quarterly total since autumn 2008.
Average
house prices are now higher than the previous peak seen in January
2008, according to the Office for National Statistics which also
revealed first-time buyer house price inflation is just under five per cent.
Miles
Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said: “Some
agents currently report that there is a buying frenzy in parts of the UK
with available stock so low that their shelves are now bare.”
The
Rightmove research to mid-October showed that across England and Wales
asking prices rose by 2.8 per cent month-on-month, following two months
of falls, to reach £252,418 on average.
Prices across the country are 3.8 per cent higher than they were a year ago.
Alexander
Gosling, director of online estate agents Housesimple.co.uk, said: “The
property market really is gathering a head of steam and not just in
London.”
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