Rightmove: Largest-ever spring price rise

The price of property coming to market this month is up by a national average of £9,409 - that is 3.6 per cent, the largest ever rise measured at this time of year by Rightmove.

This pushes the national average to £272,003, a new record high for the portal’s index.

The market momentum has been hit by the combination of the Easter and May bank holidays causing a lull in the number of properties coming to market at a time of high demand, the portal claims.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst says: “May is a traditionally bullish price rise month, though this year’s 3.6 per cent jump beats the previous May high of 3.2 per cent set in 2002.”

Demand remains strong with email enquiries to agents on Rightmove up by nearly 20 per cent so far this year compared to the same period of 2013. But supply of new properties to market is still unable to keep pace with demand, and whilst earlier months this year saw an increase in the number of new sellers, this month has seen the number of properties coming to market fall by one per cent compared to April.

The annual rate of increase is now 8.9 per cent, the highest year-on-year rise since October 2007 when it was 10.4 per cent - just before the downturn.

While housing market momentum is recovering in all regions, it is London that distorts the national picture. The new seller average asking price of a property in the capital is up by 16.3 per cent (equivalent to £82,893) year-on-year compared to an average 4.9 per cent (or £11,028) in the rest of England and Wales.

The disparity between London and the other regions is further highlighted by the growth in new seller asking prices so far in 2014. The average asking price in London is up by nearly £80,000 so far in 2014, an average of £4,405 per week. The weekly average of the rest of the country is £1,521.

Miles Shipside says: “London prices traditionally pick up earlier than the rest of the country, and whilst it appears to be slowly dragging other regions, the difference is still marked.”