8th March 2007 10:08
Demand for houses in the South of England is outstripping supply, putting pressure on the property market and forcing house prices to rise considerably. Property prices grew by 0.7% in February across 42% of the country with two thirds of the price rises concentrated in the South of England.  

In spite of the government’s January interest rate rise, property sales have increased, with the annual growth rate now standing at 6.4% - the highest in three years. Last month, the number of properties being registered with agents was up by 14% but the number of buyers in search of property went up by 23%, forcing property prices to rise. 

London property prices grew by 1.3% with properties selling, on average, within 2.5 weeks. In the South East, property prices wree up 0.9%. Outside Southern areas, average prices grew by as little as 0.1% (in the East Midlands, Yorkshire, and Wales) and average property selling time was at least 7 weeks.

A survey carried out by Hometrack, compiled from over 6,000 individual reports from estate agents, revealed that the primary causes for the low supply of housing were concern over higher borrowing costs and sellers’ unwillingness to put property on the market when there was nothing suitable for them to buy. Richard Donnell, Hometrack's director of research, said:

"What we're seeing here is primarily an issue for southern England with price growth in most other regions limited by widespread affordability pressures and a reasonable supply of housing for sale. In the absence of further interest rates rises we would need to see an increase in the number of properties coming to the market if the current upward pressure on prices is to be alleviated”.

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