2021.04.1910:35:00UTC+00UK House Prices Hit All-Time High On Record Property Sale: Rightmove

UK house prices reached a record high in April as properties available to buy hit the lowest proportion ever recorded due to high demand, property website Rightmove said Monday.

House prices increased 2.1 percent on a monthly basis in April, following a 0.8 percent rise in March. Average house prices hit a record GBP 327,797.

Year-on-year, house price inflation accelerated to 5.1 percent in April from 2.7 percent in the previous month.

The agency said the average number of days to sell a property reached its lowest ever level, and the number of houses selling within a week reached its highest ever level.

About 145,000 properties were newly marketed in April, but not enough to meet buyer demand.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove's Director of Property Data said, "This is only the second time over the past five years that prices have increased by over 2 percent in a month, so it's a big jump, especially bearing in mind that the lockdown restrictions are still limiting the population's movements and activities."

However, Bannister said some of the froth is likely to come off this spring surge later in the year as the challenging economic conditions come to the fore, some of the Government support to individuals and businesses unwinds, and the stamp duty holidays finally end in England and Wales. Nevertheless, activity is expected to remain robust for the rest of 2021.