Lack of available homes pushes demand and prices up

House prices are continuing to be pushed up by rising demand, which is being fuelled by the lack of available houses on the market, new figures show.
According to propertywire.com, new data from Hometrack has revealed that the supply of houses fell by 3.5 per cent in November but demand grew by three per cent. Over the past six months, supply has decreased by 0.6 per cent and demand has shot up by 10.2 per cent. As a result, house prices in November increased by 0.5 per cent.
Although all regions have seen house prices rise over the last six months, some increases have been more dramatic than others. In London, values have rocketed by 4.8 per cent. In the north of the country, prices have only risen by less than 0.5 per cent, reports insidehousing.co.uk.
The report explains a number of factors have helped boost the housing market over the six-month period: "While Help to Buy has boosted sentiment and increased activity, low mortgage rates have provided homeowners more buying power than at any time previously.
"The change to Funding for Lending is likely to result in mortgage rates drifting higher. This will scale back the potential buying power of households which is important to keep price rises in check."