Housing Stocks in Focus as The UK House Prices Rise Sharply in April

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Summary

• The asking price for UK homes hits a record high in April this year, says Rightmove.
• The asking home price in Britain rose by £6,733 in the five weeks to 10 April this year.
• Factors including an extended stamp duty holiday, cheap mortgages and a burgeoning demand for homes contributed to this rise.

UK house prices reached a new high of £327,797 in April, displaying a 2.1 per cent growth over the previous month, as per the latest data from Rightmove, the online realty portal. Tim Bannister, Director of Property Data, Rightmove, said that this was definitely a big price jump as it was only the second time in the past five years that monthly property prices rose by more than 2 per cent.

Factors such as an extended stamp duty holiday, cheap mortgages and a burgeoning demand for homes contributed to this rise.

Also Read: Budget 2021: How the housing market can gain from recent sops

The property portal said that supply was limited last month, with 145,000 properties up for sale on the market last month, which was not sufficient to meet the buyer demand.

Rightmove said that the asking housing price across Britain rose by £6,733 in the five weeks to 10 April this year, with homes selling in a record-fast time.

While part of the property prices’ growth momentum could ease off as the government support policies are withdrawn, and the impact of challenging economic scenario becomes visible in the latter part of the year, but Rightmove expects the overall national housing activity to remain robust for the rest of the year.

The share price of Rightmove Plc (LON: RMV) was hovering at GBX 614.80 on 8.43 AM at 19 April, up 0.72 per cent from the previous day’s close.

Also Read: UK house prices rise with growing demand, says Rightmove survey

Let us now glance through select property stocks listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Berkeley Group Holdings Plc (LON: BKG)

The Berkeley Group is a Cobham based property developing firm. Its share price was up 0.24 per cent to GBX 4621 at 8.41 AM on 19 April.

Persimmon Plc (LON: PSN)

A constituent of the FTSE 100 index, Persimmon Plc is a real estate company based out of York, England. Its share price improved by 0.28 per cent to GBX 3,210 at 8.48 AM on Monday.

Also Read: Persimmon plc releases robust performance with strong housing demand

Countryside Properties Plc (LON: CSP)

FTSE 250 index constituent, Countryside Properties is home construction and urban redevelopment firm. The company stock was trading at GBX 545, up 0.18 per cent from the previous day’s close at 9.12 AM on Monday.

Bellway Plc (LON:BWY)

A residential property developer based out of Tyne, England, Bellway Plc is a part of the FTSE 250 index at the LSE. The company’s shares touched a value of 3,735 at 9.17 AM on Monday, up 0.67 per cent from the last day’s close.

Vistry Group Plc (LON:VTY)

A British real estate firm developing private and affordable homes, the Vistry Group is included in the FTSE 250 index at the London Stock Exchange. The company’s stock jumped 0.89 per cent to reach a value of GBX 1,241 at 9.21 AM on 19 April.