House prices rise again in October
A survey by Hometrack has confirmed that house prices in England and Wales rose by 0.2% in October to an average of £156,400. This is the third such rise in a row and while many people are now starting to call the bottom of the property market it is worth noting that the number of people signing up with estate agents has begun to slow. While this may just be a reflection of the time of the year, with Christmas a very quiet period in the UK property sector, this is something we will need to watch in the short to medium term.
It was also interesting to see that the length of the average sale process fell to just 8.4 weeks and the number of buyers achieving their asking price has pushed ahead from a low of 88.3% in February to 92.9% in October. Whether this is a reflection of the number of properties available in the market and the lack of "quality" properties remains to be seen but this is one concern which has been voiced on a number of occasions.
It is interesting to see that the difference between the sale price and asking price of properties throughout England and Wales is now back to the level prior to the credit crunch which would indicate a more competitive marketplace, at least on the surface.
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