Property boom is "masking affordability constraint"

Posted: 18 Apr 2006 09:46:26 GMT

The average asking price for a UK home in April was 4.1 per cent higher than in the same month in 2005.

While this is down marginally from the 4.3 per cent rise in the preceding month, it has generally been accepted as further evidence of the strengthening property market.

Property website Rightmove indicates that the average property asking price is now up to £205,674, after a 1.1 per cent rise during the month.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, this is being led by affluent homeowners who are untouched by the affordability constraints hampering first-time buyers and young couples.

"Some buyers have both the confidence and the ability to pay more for the right property, resulting in an affluent area mini-boom which is masking affordability constraints and driving national average prices to record levels," Miles Shipside, commercial director at Rightmove, said in a statement.

It is clearly a problem for those looking to get a footing on the property ladder, with the London market proving particularly awkward.

In Islington, for instance, house prices have increased by more than 20 per cent over the year, which compares to a 7.7 per cent average rise in the capital.


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