Highlights
- According to the property website Rightmove, the average asking price in Britain peaked at £372,894.
- The asking price jumped by 1.8% on a month-on-month basis, or £6,647 in May.
- The buyer’s demands remain 3% higher than in 2019.
The average house prices in Britain improved after a long time as sellers reacted positively to improving market confidence. According to the property website Rightmove, the asking price jumped by 1.8% on a month-on-month basis or £6,647, in May as it reached a high of £372,894. But, with soaring prices and inflation still prevailing, the market still remains price sensitive, and the buyers may still have to put off their plans for some more period.
Having said that, the buyer’s demands remain 3% higher than in 2019, with the number of sales agreed to be just 3% behind the same period. This should encourage the sellers despite the inflation, and the demand is still persisting.
Rightmove believes that this strong jump indicates increasing seller confidence ahead of the spring season. It further adds that it also showcases that things are slowly getting back to normalcy following the exceptional activity of the pandemic years.
A steadying has also helped increase housing prices in average fixed-rate mortgages. The average rate for a five-year fixed is currently at 4.56% -- further slipping to 4.52% last week. Across the country, Scotland’s average prices increased by 5% in a year, while in Wales, it improved by 0.7%. However, it was no surprise that London has the most expensive homes in Britain, with the houses going for around £696,477.
Amidst this, Kalkine Media explores some housing stocks the market participants can explore.
Persimmon Plc (LON: PSN)
Reacting to the news, Persimmon Plc, the firm that constructs apartments, was trading at GBX 1306.00, down by -0.08% at the time of writing. Persimmon on Monday held a market cap of £4,174.77 million and gave its investors a dividend yield of 4.87%. The stock has given its investors a negative annual return of -38.51%.
Taylor Wimpey Plc (LON: TW)
Another British housebuilder, Taylor Wimpey, was witnessing a dip of -0.04% and was trading at GBX 123.90 at the time of writing. Taylor Wimpey Plc gave its shareholders a dividend yield of 7.48% and had a P/E ratio of 6.86. The FTSE-100 constituent held a market cap of £4,377.90 and has given its investors a return of 21.94% on a YTD basis.