UK House Price Inflation Accelerates Despite Economic Headwinds: Rightmove

Despite economic pressures, UK house price inflation accelerated in September driven by middle and high-end market sectors, data from property website Rightmove showed Monday.

Average asking prices increased 8.7 percent on a yearly basis in September, faster than the 8.2 percent rise in August.

Month-on-month, house prices gained 0.7 percent, in contrast to the 1.3 percent fall in August. The rise in new seller asking prices was in line with the ten-year September average increase of 0.6 percent.

The price growth in the middle and high-end sectors highlights that even when finances are more stretched, many of the reasons for looking to move up the ladder remain, Rightmove noted.

Further, the stamp duty cut announced in the mini-budget is set to underpin demand from first-time buyers.

Data showed that the number of homes coming to market increased 16 percent in September compared to this time last year, which is a return to 2019 levels.

If Friday's budget announcement lead to a big jump in prospective buyers competing for the constrained number of properties for sale, then it could lead to some unseasonal price rises over the next few months, Tim Bannister Rightmove's Director of Property Science said.

"With more buyer demand we would also expect that the current trend of more properties coming to market will continue, offering more choice for buyers," Bannister added.

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