Demand is greatest for small homes with two bedrooms or less – the type of property often favoured by first-time buyers.
The UK property market remains resilient despite uncertainty over Brexit which contributed to a summer lull, the latest figures show.
Rightmove, the UK’s largest property listing website, said the average asking price rose 0.7%, or £2,277, in September, taking the average cost for a home across England and Wales to £306,499.
This bounce-back in asking prices goes some way towards offsetting a £6,249 decline in the average price tag on a home recorded across July and August in the immediate aftermath of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and a traditional summer showdown in the housing market.
Demand is generally greatest for homes with two bedrooms or less – the type of property often favoured by first-time buyers – which partly explains why the average asking price hit £194,977 after rising 3.3% over the month and 10.5% year-on-year.
The fact that a growing number of buy-to-let landlords are now targeting one- and two-bedroom homes as a long-term investment has contributed to the above average growth in the price of smaller properties. This is making it harder for first-time buyers to afford the initial deposit needed and monthly mortgage repayments required to finance a property acquisition.
London recorded the largest monthly increase in asking prices in September, with a 1.9% rise taking the average price tag on a home there to £630,974.
The East Midlands saw the next biggest monthly increase, with a 1.3% rise pushing prices to £197,502 on average.
Wales saw the biggest monthly fall in asking prices in September, with a 1.9% fall taking the average asking price to £177,077.
Asking prices in the South West, the West Midlands and the North East were flat month-on-month, while they increased in the South East and East Anglia and fell slightly in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West.
Although the figures from Rightmove suggest that the housing market is continuing to shake off the effect of post-Brexit vote uncertainty, particularly at the lower end of the market, it is important to note that there is generally a gap between asking prices and what homes actually sell for.
Some estate agents will quote an inflated asking price in order to win new instructions to sell property, but the reality is that many vendors need to be prepared to accept a lower offer, with sellers across some parts of the country currently prepared to take a big hit in order to shift their home.
The best way to achieve your asking price is to quote a realistic asking price in the first place. To help offer you an idea of what you property is genuinely worth, check out our free online valuation tool.
Dress to impress
As well as tidying up your home and making sure it looks its best, also consider who is likely to buy your property. If it’s a young professional, leave the laptop out on the desk, or if it is for the older downsizer, keep the space clear and uncluttered.