August Top for New Buyers

As asking prices continue to fall, more buyers are taking the plunge and re-entering the property market, according to Rightmove.co.uk Average asking prices have fallen for the third consecutive month, causing property experts to speculate that the year long recession in sales volumes has ?bottomed?. According to property website Rightmove.co.uk?s most recent Price Index, asking prices fell by £875 in August, bringing the average house price down to £195,407. Traditionally a quiet, holiday month where the amount of unsold properties increases, August 2005 outstripped each of the previous two months in the amount of houses sold. Miles Shipside, Commercial Director of Righmove.co.uk said: ?The market has been searching for a level of sustainable pricing at which sales volumes will begin to increase. There are now clear signs that some buyers see this as the time to re-enter the market?. Sales volumes at the beginning of the year were at their lowest in a decade, shocking sellers and agents into more realistic prices. August?s drop in interest rates plus growing speculation of pension-assisted buy-to-let funds entering the market in spring 2006 has accounted for renewed buyer interest in what is usually one of the quietest months of the year. Affordability is at a four-month high with wage inflation now exceeding house price inflation. ?We could be at the bottom of this cycle of the property market,? says Shipside, ?Though continued realistic pricing is critical to keep the momentum going.? www.rightmove.co.uk