Rightmove report record start to year in terms of home seeker numbers

Rightmove has reported a record start to 2015, with the most page views ever in a single day  (Sunday, January 11).

In the first 13 days of January, site traffic was up 10% on the same period a year ago.

However, buyers have little to choose from, with estate agency stock down 10% on this time last year.

Although new instructions are up 2% on last January, it is not enough to replenish sold stock.

Rightmove reports that asking prices of property new to the market are up 1.4% compared with a month ago.

However, asking prices of cheaper properties likely to appeal to first-time buyers have fallen by £1,132 month on month.

The average asking price for a property new to the market is now £269,477 – on an annual basis, up 8.2%.

The average first-time buyer property is on the market at £163,251.

Rightmove said that despite signs of a New Year bounce-back after the market cooled in the second half of last year, it remained to be seen whether this initial flurry could be sustained.

It warned that with General Election uncertainty and lenders being picky about mortgage applicants, the number of property transactions could fall.