Asking prices up again as property supply dwindles

In a further flurry of information about the residential property market, the Home portal said that asking prices are now up 5.5% on a year ago across England and Wales.

In London, asking prices are up 12% annually, and are currently 2% up on last month.

The website, which takes its data from virtually every property website, says that the supply of property for sale is down 18% year on year, and that the imbalance between demand and supply dominates the market dynamic.

In London, property supply is down 31% on October 2012. According to Home, only 60% of properties listed for sale within a ten-mile radius of the centre of London are under £600,000 – the cap at which 95% mortgages under Help to Buy will be lent.

Doug Shephard, director at Home, said: “A key concern is that the Help to Buy scheme will only exacerbate affordability problems. The UK property market as a whole is already functioning well.

“Further market stimulus may be justified in selected areas, mainly the north, but certainly not across the whole UK, as that would significantly raise the risk of another property crash.

“Given the current economic climate and government debt levels, we struggle to see where the next bail-out could come from.”