Britain’s house-price spike

Asking prices for houses have hit their highest level since the early days of the financial crisis, says property search website Rightmove, quoted on Thisismoney.co.uk. Sellers are looking for 2.8% more in February than they were a month ago, pushing asking prices 1.1% above their level a year ago and just shy of a record set in February 2008.

Recently the Council of Mortgage Lenders also announced that lending to first-time buyers is at a five-year high. But the most active age bracket, says Rightmove, is people aged 45-65 who already own a house and can raise finance relatively easily. Lower down the ladder, much depends on how much longer the government's one-off Funding for Lending scheme lasts.

The Economist has warned that house prices here are overvalued by between 12% and 21%, depending on the area. That's why Rightmove director Miles Shipside warns "the journey between expressing an interest and closing the deal has many more twists and turns than before the credit crunch".

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