House prices have risen by an average of 0.8% this month, according to Rightmove. A typical home is now up for sale at £231,790, an increase of 0.9% this time last year. There has also been a rise of 5% in the number of listings compared to March last year.
Despite the increase in properties for sale, the volume is still 26% down on 2007. Rightmove says the number of terraced homes coming onto the market has fallen dramatically.
The property website points out that first-time buyers are unable to enter the housing market due to large deposit requirements and since they tend to be the largest group to buy terraced properties, sellers are left out in the cold.
The first two months of the year saw an increase in the number of people making house purchase enquiries with estate agents and these are now slowly converting into sales. The index for March shows that it now takes an average of 89 days to sell as opposed to the previous figure of 98 days.
Meanwhile, buy to let landlords are capitalising on the sluggish housing market and raising rents, and this has led to an increase in tenant arrears. 12.6% of tenants are now in arrears with their rent, up from just over 10% in January. The total unpaid rent in the UK last month stood at £296 million.
If property values continue the trend of the past three months, a buy to let investor can expect to see a return of £5,933 on each property this year.
© 2010 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
