What’s happening in the property market?

According to Rightmoves’s monthly house price index the average asking price of property nationally is £285,891 which is down 0.1% from last month and up 2.5% on last year.

This is the first fall in May for the last five years and indicates that some sellers may have priced differently to sell in what they thought were uncertain times approaching the Election.

This didn’t seem to be the case in the East of England though whose average asking price was £303,063 – up by 0.7% since last month and 6.3% since this time last year.

Nationwide’s house price statistics show the average national selling price for April was £193,048 which was up 1% on the previous month and was the largest monthly increase since June last year. The East of England average selling price over the last quarter was £193,772 – up 1.1% from the previous quarter.

Chris Plummer, Relationship Manager at Tortoise says that the local housing market is very buoyant going into the early part of the summer. Chris recommends that if you are thinking of either buying or selling a property, now is the time before the holiday season starts. Tortoise Property have sold properties in Hampton, Gunthorpe, Stilton, Bretton and Longthorpe in the last month alone. Chris explained that these successful sales, over a short period of time, were made possible through the use of professional photographers producing high quality photography and property videos.

With growing confidence in a market where Help to buy and Help to Buy ISAs will be assisting the first time buyer end of the market and the confidence that the government is set to try and build 275,000 new homes during its upcoming term, the market is be gaining impetus.

The Guardian reports that the number of £2 million homes for sale has more than doubled post-election and mortgages are becoming more competitive with great fixed rate deals offering appealing options. The Buy to Let market is strong as British landlords pocketed £112 billion last year from rental income and capital gains.

Here in Peterborough we have a great selection of properties for every budget. Check out www.tortoiseproperty.co.uk to see what can offer you.

Talk to one of our professional Relationship Managers to see how we can help you buy, rent, sell or let on 01733 592020.