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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

House prices surge to new record

The price of property coming to market has surged to an all-time high after rising nearly £8,500 in a month.

The average UK asking price leapt 3% in June to £294,351 as buyers return to confidence in the wake of the General Election but sellers sit tight.

The latest report from Rightmove shows new record highs in six out of 10 regions, as the supply/demand imbalance continues to head north.

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The property portal said the clear Conservative majority had boosted by activity but the anticipated rise in new seller numbers had failed to materialise.

Rightmove saw its busiest ever May with 115 million visits.

Yet the number of properties coming onto the market was down 8% year-on-year.

The main exception came in the £2 million-plus market, where there was an 86% month-old-month jump in new listings.

Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: “Buyers had been holding back in the weeks before the election, leading to some sellers suffering an unseasonal price standstill in the late spring. 

“In particular, sentiment and prices got hit in the mooted Mansion Tax price brackets.

“Now the unexpected election outcome has caused a strong rebound, prompting an upturn in buyer demand and helping new seller asking prices to hit their highest ever levels.”

Shipside said agents had reported that the election surprise has given a boost to market sentiment, driven by more certainty about future economic and taxation policies.

“While would-be buyers have been able to respond quickly to these events, many potential sellers have so far failed to come to market.

“This has pushed up some of the asking prices of those properties that have been marketed, meaning that buyers are faced with paying a new average record price high for the more limited choice available.

“It could be said that this is the price of political certainty.”

Shipside predicted an active second-half housing market in 2015 barring any external shocks to the economy.

He added: “The new government and other stakeholders now need to urgently deliver more new-build homes, to stop asking prices being pushed up further as demand continues to outstrip supply of suitable homes in many areas.”

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