Homebuyer demand drives up asking prices for UK homes: Rightmove

LONDON, Sept.20 (Reuters) – Asking prices for homes in Britain resumed their upward trend this month, with demand from buyers far outstripping the supply of new homes entering the market, a report revealed. survey Monday.

Real estate website Rightmove said asking prices rose 0.3% in its September survey to a new high of 338,462 pounds ($ 466,671), reversing a 0.3% drop in early August.

Overall, the survey added to signs that the housing market has retained some of its bullish momentum, even after the phasing out of temporary tax breaks on real estate purchases.

Finance Minister Rishi Sunak reduced the stamp duty, a tax on home purchases, in July 2020. But in July, it started to return to its pre-pandemic level and the tax break completely expires this. this month.

The tax cut was aimed at reversing the drop in real estate sales at the start of the pandemic and helped fuel soaring prices for real estate and new construction. Many households were already looking for more spacious accommodation suitable for working from home, a factor that has led to sharp price increases in other countries as well.

“The high ratio of buyer demand to properties for sale means the real estate market remains hungry despite the summer lull reducing overall activity,” said Tim Bannister, director of real estate data for Rightmove.

The company said the number of potential buyers per property has more than doubled from pre-pandemic levels, which matches a similar report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

The August survey looked at properties first advertised on Rightmove between August 8 and September 11.

($ 1 = 0.7253 pounds)

Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken

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