2021.05.1710:55:00UTC+00UK House Prices At Record High: Rightmove

UK house prices rose to a new all-time high in May as demand continued to massively exceed supply, property website Rightmove said on Monday.

The average price of property coming to market jumped GBP 5,767 to a record GBP 333,564 in May.

House prices increased 1.8 percent month-on-month, following a 2.1 percent rise in April. The annual growth in prices accelerated to 6.7 percent from 4.9 percent in the previous month.

In the previous market upturns London has generally led the way, but the capital's rate of price increase since pre-lockdown March 2020 was at a virtual standstill, up only 0.2 percent compared to the double digit price growth in areas further north.

"Last year's unexpected mini-boom is rolling on into 2021, with new price and market activity records again defying many predictions," Tim Bannister, Rightmove's Director of Property Data said.

Buyer affordability is increasingly stretched, but there is obviously some elasticity left to stretch a bit more as many buyers are squeezing their way into higher price bands, Bannister noted.

The high demand, with both willingness and ability to pay more, has pushed the average price of property coming to market to a new all-time high of a third of a million pounds.