House prices rose for the second month in a row in August according to the Halifax, which said a shortage of properties for sale was driving price hikes.
The UK’s longest-running monthly survey of house prices revealed the average price climbed by 0.8% last month to £160,973.
On a yearly basis, house prices are 10.1% lower than in August 2008. In April, the Halifax reported house prices were down 17.7% annually.
The rise in prices is the fourth reported by the Halifax this year.
Peter Rollings, managing director of London estate agent Marsh & Parsons, said: “The increase in house prices nationally comes as no surprise and in pockets of the country – most notably in London – prices are rising faster than these numbers indicate. The underlying problem is a lack of supply of properties on the market.
“The introduction of ‘first day marketing’ HIPs has had a detrimental effect as it takes the immediacy out of the market and puts off owners who are only prepared to sell if they first find the ‘perfect’ place to buy.”
HIPs keeping properties off the market, says Rollings
11 September 2009
Comments
Why is every story on the rise or fall of the market coming back to HIP's? Can't they find something else to moan about.
got call from digital property group and they advised me that with 23 days notice they were putting up the cost of my subscription by nearly 200%. I have told them where to stick their portals where the sun does'nt shine.
Simple solution to one major part of the problem. Get rid of the unwanted and useless (for the main purpose of speeding up sales) HIP's.