Property prices rose nearly 2% in June according to TEAM, the country’s largest network of independent estate agents. Interest and activity remain strong, they said.

Just a dip

TEAM’s national chairman, Philip Muzzlewhite, commented:

“A rising market is back for another year and those who predicted a fall in house prices were just suffering from a form of Gulf War Syndrome as the market dipped while national attention was elsewhere.”

TEAM’s latest national survey shows that nation-wide the average price of homes “under offer” was £168,389 in mid-June – an increase of 1.9% compared with May. The average rise in the last 12 months is now 16.7%.

The survey is based on data supplied by 558 offices of TEAM members in 16 regions across England and Wales and reflects a daily average of 4,968 homes listed as under offer by agents in the four-week period to mid-June.

Strength in the west

While prices in Surrey appear to have taken a tumble in the month, the market across the rest of the country has, in general, remained strong, with particularly sharp increases in Cornwall, Somerset & Avon and South Wales.

Jim Atkins, a past president of the National Association of Estate Agents, who is also a TEAM member, based in Dorset, said:

“Whilst there are regional variations with some areas continuing to rise, others are on a plateau with no or little increase and some have fallen. Buyers are in good supply, as are new instructions coming to the market, but sellers need to be realistic and not over optimistic with their asking prices.”