Housing market creeps up in ‘new year bounce’

The housing market is showing signs of a “new year bounce” in activity, with new sellers increasing asking prices by an average of nearly £4,000 in January, property search website Rightmove has reported.
The price of property coming on the market increased by 1.4% or £3,798 compared with December - despite January usually being a month when asking prices fall, the website said.
Across England and Wales, the average asking price for a property put on the market this month is £273,275, which is 8.2% higher than a year ago.
Rightmove said that while it is still early days, “there are signs of a new year bounce-back”, with visits to the website this year so far running at 10% higher than a year ago.
Meanwhile, people looking to take their first step on the property ladder have the opportunity to grab a cheaper deal this month, the website’s findings suggest. Sellers of typical first-time buyer homes are asking for around £1,132 less than they were in December.
The average asking price on a first-time buyer property is now £163,251, although this is still a significant 10.5% increase on a year ago.
Rightmove said that the recent reforms to stamp duty, which have made the tax bill less expensive for the vast majority of homebuyers, could mean potential savings of as much as £1,250 for a first-time buyer.
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jan/19/housing-market-up-new-year-bounce-property?CMP=EMCMONTXT5510I2