Mini boom 'coming to an end'

The 'mini boom' that the UK property market has been experiencing is coming to an end, according to Rightmove, with the latest asking-price index showing monthly growth of only 0.3 per cent in July.

This is down from 0.8 per cent the month before, while annual growth saw a sharper fall from 13.2 per cent in June to 10.3 per cent in July. The average asking price for a property is currently just over £240,000, according to Rightmove.

Growth in prices has not been this slow since December 2006, the property firm said, when a similar monthly increase of 0.3 per cent in prices was recorded.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove commercial director, said: "This is further evidence that
the 'mini boom' is coming to an end. As long as employment remains buoyant, prices are
likely to remain broadly at these levels.

"However depending on local supply and demand, sellers are going to have to duck and weave with their asking prices, especially if there is another rise in interest rates."

Mr Shipside claimed that the probability of another rate hike is going down, as indicators of softening in the housing market are beginning to emerge.

Rightmove's report warned of a growing divide between London and the rest of the UK, with prices in the capital rising nearly twice as fast as any other region in the past 12 months.

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