GREEN shoots are continuing to emerge in the property market with house prices across London jumping more than £5,000 in March alone.

The closely watched data from Rightmove - which tracks the price of newly advertised homes coming to market - suggests buyers and sellers are reacting to expected Bank of England rate cuts this summer.

The 1.5 per cent monthly jump trumped the average March increase of 1.0 per cent, suggesting a stronger-than-usual market even accounting for seasonal buying peaks.

The number of sales being agreed is now 13 per cent higher than at this time last year and buyer demand is now eight per cent higher than the year before.

In London house prices rose by 0.9 per cent to £686,000, remaining the most expensive in the UK.

Rightmove said London has seen the biggest increase in buyer demand, both overall and for top-of-the-ladder properties, compared to this time last year.

London property prices had been hit harder by the sharp rise in Bank of England rates, and their negative impact on demand.

"The return to the office, wage increases, stable house prices and the slowing of inflation have all played their part in increasing buyer interest in living in the capital again," it said.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science, added: "March is typically a strong month for asking price growth, as both buyer and seller activity levels rise and the spring selling season gets underway.

"However, the stronger than usual price growth this March indicates that new sellers are feeling much more confident, with some perhaps being over-optimistic, that there is enough buyer activity and affordability in their local market to achieve a higher price."

Britain's housing market has started to show more positive signs of recovery this year, despite mortgage rates rising and the economy slipping into a technical recession in the last quarter of 2023.

The UK economy grew 0.2 per cent in January, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in line with economists' expectations. This followed a 0.1 per cent fall in December.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper