Rightmove Advises to Act Now if You Want to Move Home in Time for Christmas

LONDON, September 19, 2011 -

Property website Rightmove reports that new sellers coming to market in September have asked 0.7% (£1,596) more for their properties than last month, to leave the average asking price for a property in the UK at £233,139. This month is the third anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which triggered the freeze in credit markets and wholesale mortgage funding. It is concerning that many of Rightmove’s key metrics have not changed since then, indicating that recovery still remains on hold until the lending squeeze eases. Given these market conditions and the 94 day average time a property is on the market, sellers seeking to tie up a deal in the 98 days left before Christmas need to take action now to undercut and out-promote their competition.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove comments: “Many buyers hope to move in before the Christmas break and enjoy their turkey in their new abode. With less than 100 days left before Christmas there’s an opportunity for some deadline-focused movers to do their bit to get some action into a market that is still pretty moribund three years after the financial fiascos that precipitated the downturn”.

Agents report that one of the reasons why the market lacks momentum is that prospective buyers do not feel any urgency to make an offer and conclude a purchase. However, prospective buyers looking to move before the festive season should note the short timescales involved. A further and more financially significant deadline is the ending of first-time buyer stamp duty relief on the 25^th of March next year. The nil-rate threshold will fall from £250,000 to £125,000, so first-time buyers should be aware that they must have completed their purchase by that date to avoid paying stamp duty of 1% of their purchase price.

Shipside adds: “It’s a tight but feasible deadline to find and be in a new home for Christmas. The stamp duty relief has more teeth to bite you in the pocket if you miss it, but that is a tasty incentive as long as you beat the deadline. There are a couple of opportunities here to get a sense of urgency into buyers, something that’s been sadly lacking since the collapse of Lehman’s put a seemingly indelible blot in the financial landscape”.

For further statistics and to download the Rightmove September 2011 House Price Index please visit - www.rightmove.co.uk/news/house-price-index or search for local house prices at www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices.html

Rightmove Press Office, press@rightmove.co.uk, +44(0)207-087-0700

.