UK Property Boom? Well in London at least…

According to Rightmove, the price of property coming onto the open market this month is up by a national average of £9,500. This equates to 3.6%, which is the largest ever rise measured at this time of year by the portal – a real UK property boom.

This takes the national average price of a home to £272,003, which is a new record high for the Rightmove index.

Depending on which side of the fence you sit, you will either be elated if you already own a property or if you are looking to purchase, it represents a more daunting prospect.

However, despite all this talk of a housing market boom and price increases occurring a on a month-by-month basis, what many home owners forget, is that articles often refer to the “national average”.

London in its own right has seen the average asking price of a property increase by 16% year-on -year. This is primarily due to the high levels of international investment occurring, as London continues to be ranked as one of the best places in the world to invest in property. This London buzz creates a substantial distortion when incorporated alongside the rest of the UK house prices indexes, which have seen increases of 5% by comparison.

The ongoing media coverage of using London within the UK house price averages, has given cause for concern at some of the UK’s top estate agents. So much so that they have reputably called in a selection of journalists to point out that they have reported a distorted viewpoint.

To get the best understanding – be careful what you read in the media, ignore index averages and only research price variations specifically in your local area.