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LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Asking prices for British
residential property are likely to rise by 5% next year, but
London looks set to underperform the national trend, the
country's largest property website, Rightmove, forecast
on Wednesday.
British property prices surged through most of last year's
lockdown and for much of this year, in common with many other
big economies, bolstered by increased demand for space as people
worked from home as well as a tax break on purchases.
"The net result as we approach the start of the 2022 market
is the lowest ever available stock of property for sale per
estate agency branch, yet with ongoing high buyer demand," Tim
Bannister, Rightmove's director of property data, said.
The latest official data shows that British house prices
rose by 11.8% in the year to September, only just below a peak
of 12.6% in June which was the highest in more than 15 years.
Rightmove said it expected price rises to slow next year as
housing became increasingly hard to afford, both because of
recent house price increases and a wider squeeze on households'
disposable income.
Consumer price inflation is already at a 10-year high, the
Bank of England is widely expected to start raising interest
rates either this month or early next year, and payroll taxes
for workers and employers increase in April.
Rightmove said it expected price rises to be greatest in
areas away from London such as southwest and central England and
Scotland, where prices were lower than in the capital and some
areas had benefited from relocation by remote workers.
(Reporting by David Milliken;
Editing by Sandra Maler)
