House prices stabilise over month

The stabilisation followed eight consecutive months of price falls, which have left the average home in England and Wales costing £153,100, according to property intelligence group Hometrack.

But the group said it expected prices to come under further pressure during the second half of the year as consumer confidence weakened.

The number of people looking to buy a home has increased by 22 per cent during the first four months of the year, while agreed sales have soared by 46 per cent.

However, Hometrack warned that the bounce-back in buyer interest was largely due to pent up demand feeding back into the market, following the weak second half of 2010, when many potential househunters sat on their hands.

It said the increase in demand was unlikely to be sustained over the rest of the year, as consumer confidence weakened, Government spending cuts kicked in and household incomes remained under pressure.

New properties are coming on to the market at a faster rate than potential buyers are registering with estate agents, creating a mismatch between supply and demand.

Hometrack director of research Richard Donnell said: “The proportion of asking price achieved increased over February and March as levels of demand grew, but over April this measure has fallen back slightly to 92.6 per cent, suggesting that while agents are still achieving sales, pricing levels are starting to come under pressure.”