Property boom as prices hit a record

HOUSE prices have hit a record high with the average home now worth £206,145.

Values have soared by 5.6 per cent over the past year, Nationwide Building Society said.

The cost of a home increased by 0.6 per cent month-on-month in August.

Prices broke through the £200,000 barrier in March and have been climbing steadily since.

Nationwide said that while buyer demand has softened, the number of new homes coming to the market has also been low, keeping prices buoyant.

Estate agent Jeremy Leaf described the increases as “encouraging and a little surprising” and believes the rise was mostly due to a shortage of housing stock.

Negotiating

He added: “We are finding an appetite to get on with buying and selling from those returning from holiday has been encouraging lately and we hope that continues into the autumn.

“People are negotiating very hard to make the deals that are being done happen.”

With the Bank of England base rate having recently been lowered to 0.25 per cent, many home owners are benefiting from cheaper mortgage costs, which experts say should also help to support the market.

A report from the Confederation of British Industry this week indicated that the services industry, which accounts for about 80 per cent of the economy, also grew over the past three months with hotels, bars and restaurants benefiting.