UK home prices hit record in October as sales reach all-time high

London

ASKING prices for UK homes climbed to a record in October as agents saw the highest number of sales ever agreed in a month amid a tax-cut fuelled boom.

Advertised prices climbed 5.5 per cent from a year earlier, the most in over four years, property website Rightmove said on Monday. Average values rose 1.1 per cent from September to £323,530 (S$572,000).

A reduction in a levy on home purchases designed to spur activity, as well as pent-up demand after Britain's national lockdown earlier this year, have left agents with more sold properties than available ones for the first time ever, according to the report.

Sales are up 70 per cent from the same month a year ago, Rightmove said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signalled even more support for the market, with a promise of more generous home loans for millions of first-time buyers.

Even so, concerns about the strength of the economic recovery, anticipated job losses and the end of the tax break in March are all weighing on the outlook. Rightmove expects annual price growth rate to peak at around 7 per cent by December.

"Whilst activity levels continue to amaze there are some signs of momentum easing off from these unprecedented levels," said Tim Bannister, the website's director of property data.

Most businesses do not expect demand to return to pre-pandemic levels until at least next summer, according to a separate report published on Monday. Deloitte's quarterly survey of chief financial officers found 62 per cent said it won't happen until after the second quarter of 2021.

Employers plan to keep, on average, 82 per cent of their furloughed staff after the wage support programme winds down at the end of this month, the poll of 102 CFOs found.

Brexit could add to economic troubles, though, with participants reporting that they will decrease hiring and capital expenditure more prominently over the next year if no trade deal is reached. BLOOMBERG