UK Property Market Levels Out in the Summer

Recent research into the UK property market has indicated some very positive trends, and it looks like the worst of the economic downturn has finally passed the housing sector for buying and rentals. There has been a steady increase in sale prices, and rental prices have levelled out across the UK market during the last quarter. Average sale prices have risen by 4.2% between the first two quarters of 2009, with London showing particular resilience, averaging more than 5%.

The reason for this improvement is down to healthier market place competition- there are around 75% more applicants from the same time last year, a massive improvement and indicating renewed confidence in the domestic property market. Some property agencies have even gone as far to suggest that the ratio of would-be-buyers to sellers- around 9:1- is close to the heyday of 2006.

London has witnessed the most prominent improvement in the UK property market, strengthening even during the summer period, normally considered to be a quiet time for buyer activity. Smaller property holdings have performed particularly well, with prices rising around 6.7% against the first quarter of the year. Both viewing and offer figures indicate a dramatic improvement compared with this time last year- rising by 34% and 77% respectively. Perhaps most significantly though is the fact that rental prices have finally started to improve, with a small quarterly increase of 0.3%. It is also clear that the higher end of the market is recovering favourably, with London properties in the City, Notting Hill and Knightsbridge proving particularly popular.

Whilst London has received the most visible improvement, there are also signs that the property market in the rest of the country is also picking up. There have been month-by-month price gains for both properties for sale and properties for rent, with three and four bedroom houses in desirable locations performing most impressively- picking up around 5% in the last quarter.
According to research carried out by Hamptons International-property management company