Rightmove said Monday that the price of new property rose 2.3% in February in Great Britain, the biggest on-month increase recorded by the real-estate website in more than 20 years.
According to Rightmove data, new seller-asking prices rose by 7,785 pounds ($10,599) this month, hitting a record-high average price of GBP348,804. The annual growth rate accelerated to 9.5%, the highest since September 2014, signaling a red-hot U.K. housing market.
In addition, Rightmove said enquiries from potential buyers to agents have increased by 16% on year, while new-property listings, and people requesting home valuations, were up 11%.
“High demand and a shortage of available stock are supporting a rise in prices and a new record-average asking price this month,” Rightmove’s director of property data Tim Bannister said.
As final pandemic restrictions are lifted and companies encourage a return to the office, demand for property is increasing, particularly in London. In January the capital recorded the biggest increase in the number of potential buyers sending enquiries out of any region in Great Britain. London also had a new housing price record in February and the highest price increase since 2016.
“It can be difficult for buyers at the moment, with not a lot of choice and tough competition for the properties available,” Ben Hudson, managing director at a real-estate agency in York, England, said. “However for sellers, most new properties are getting huge traction at the moment, which makes it a great time to come to market.”