Price of UK homes hits a new record high after election
London housing shoots up by nearly 6 per cent after a 2.3 per cent fall in May amid concerns over Labour's proposal for a new 'mansion tax'
The average asking price for homes in England and Wales hit a new record high as buyers returned to the market after last month's national election, property website Rightmove said.
The average asking price in the period between May 10 and June 6 jumped by a monthly 3 per cent to £294,351, Rightmove said in a statement on Monday.
Prices in London shot up by nearly 6 per cent after a 2.3 per cent fall in the previous monthly figures when there had been concerns about the opposition Labour Party's proposal for a new "mansion tax" on expensive properties.
In annual terms, prices in England and Wales were up 4.5 per cent.
The Conservative Party's success in winning an unexpected majority in parliament in the May 7 election helped boost the number of buyers but an anticipated increase in sellers had not occurred and supply fell, it said.
"Some buyers had been holding back in the weeks before the election, leading to some sellers suffering an unseasonal price stand-still in the late spring," said Miles Shipside, Rightmove's housing market analyst.
The new government urgently needed to play its part to deliver more new homes and stop asking prices being pushed up further, he said.