Home sellers in the U.K. have raised asking prices for the third month in a row as a shortage of properties on the market has helped support elevated home prices, according to Bloomberg. On Monday, Rightmove reported that the average asking price in the U.K. rose by 0.8% during March to £231,790, although prices in London shed 1.5% from the level recorded in February. Real-estate agents reported a small increase in unsold homes, from an average of 69 to 70 per agent, and Rightmove said that lack of liquidity is creating a “legacy of longer-term problems.”
A separate report form the Center for Economics and Business Research showed that home prices dropped 0.5% in the U.K. during February from the month before, moving 1.1% lower year-over-year. Rightmove’s Miles Shipside said, “This month’s number of sellers, still handcuffed by a lack of equity, has managed to limp just ahead of the number of deposit-shackled buyers.” However, the CEBR said a possible interest rate increase from the Bank of England would have “negative implications” for home prices, further hampering the weakened housing market.