LONDON (Reuters) - Asking prices for British homes rose by the most in annual terms in nearly six years in early 2022, according to a survey that showed how a severe shortage of properties for sale is keeping up the heat in the housing market.
Property website Rightmove (OTC:RTMVY) said on Monday that the average price of property put up for sale rose by 0.3% in January, taking the 12-month increase to 7.6%, the highest annual rate of price growth since May 2016.
The number of buyers enquiring about homes was 15% higher than at the same time last year but the number of available homes for sale per estate agency branch sank to a new record low of just 12, Rightmove said.
There were signs of more properties hitting the market as the first working week of 2022 was the busiest start of a year on record for people asking agents to value their homes.
Britain's housing market boomed after the lifting of the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020, helped by a now-expired tax break offered by finance minister Rishi Sunak and longer-lasting demand for bigger properties among people working from home.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property data, said asking prices were within 1% of last October's record high and were the highest ever recorded for homes typically sought by first-time buyers.
"All of the signs suggest that prices are likely to continue to rise until more choice is available," Bannister said.