propertytalk Live!

The balance between supply and demand shifted toward the supply side as the new instructions net balance outpaced buyer interest for the second consecutive month, according to RICS latest UK Housing Market survey.

New instruction and new buyer inquiries rebounded in February following a weather-skewed dip in January with both net balances turning positive. For the second consecutive month the new instructions net balance outpaced the new buyer inquiries net balance - the first sustained shift towards supply for two years.

A Conservative Party win at the forthcoming general election will not make any difference to house prices and mortgage availability.

That is the verdict of 53% of Savills Private Finance clients.

The London residential property market is seeing steady growth with the average house price increasing by 1.9% in the last month, according to the latest London Property Index from haart.

Despite a national dip being reported in some surveys, haart has seen the average house price across its branches grow from £218,011 to £222,153 between January and February 2010.

For many buyers contemplating a move and seeking reassurance, the tabloid headlines and conflicting research reports issued in February will have done nothing to steady nerves and provide a clear and concise view of the property market, according to the latest Monthly Market Review from property search specialists Garrington.

Garrington said it had witnessed a widening gap last month between "on the ground" market activity and quantitative data issued in reports which analyse historical trends.

Access to a good school is a major consideration when parents with school-age children decide where to live, but homes with access to high-quality schools come with a significant house price premium attached, a survey by Savills Research has shown.

And this premium has increased as a result of the recession.

Homes in the vicinity of the top-performing 25% of secondary schools now cost 16% more than their county average, up from 13% in 2007. At the extreme, homes in areas with a combination of good state and independent school options can be worth two or three times their county average. In stark contrast, house prices around schools in the bottom quarter of the performance tables averaged 10% less than the county average.

The number of new properties listed in South Wales has increased by seven per cent over the past month, according to figures released today by Darlows estate agency.

The Darlows survey also revealed that the number of properties sold between January and February 2010 increased by nine per cent, with the average current house price up 3.5 per cent from £141,167 to £146,153.

The housing market renewed its pace of recovery in February after subdued growth in January, with the number of valuations on residential housing growing 61% compared to the previous month, according to the latest research by Connells Survey and Valuation.

The positive trend of year-on-year increases also continued, with the number of valuations conducted in February up by 22% on the number a year ago. Activity has now grown year-on-year for 6 months in a row.

House prices fell by 1% month-on-month in February, according to the latest figures from Nationwide.

Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: "The price of a typical UK property fell by a seasonally adjusted 1% month-on-month in February, ending a strong run of nine consecutive monthly increases.

"The relatively smoother three month on three month rate of inflation remained positive at +1.6%, though this is down from +2.0% in January and a peak of +3.7% in September 2009. The annual rate of price inflation still managed to increase from 8.6% to 9.2% year-on-year, as this month’s fall was smaller than the 1.5% m/m decline recorded in February 2009. The average price of a typical property sold in the UK during February was £161,320.

A good turnout in elections cools the property market, according to estate agency Your Move.

Your Move said it had analysed the number of property transactions completed during periods containing a general election, going back from the present day to 1979.

Potential buyers struggling to get mortgages could result in Britain's recovering housing market dipping again, a leading Bank of England decision maker has warned.

House prices fell around 20% during the credit crunch and while the market has recovered about half those losses banks are now more risk averse in terms of lending.

BoE policy maker Kate Barker said she was surprised by the rebound.