London house prices surged this month, helping national values post their best annual increase since before the financial crisis, Rightmove Plc said.
Asking prices in the U.K. capital jumped 5.2 percent to an average 541,313 pounds ($905,500) from January, the operator of Britain’s biggest property website said in a report today. On the year, they rose 11.2 percent. Nationally, values rose 3.3 percent from the previous month and 6.9 percent on the year, the best annual performance since November 2007.
“This month’s large rise is exacerbated by being a rebound from the festive-season lull,” said Miles Shipside, a director at Rightmove. “The spring moving season is traditionally the busiest time of the year, so that means agents are likely to advise new sellers to aim high, with the best-selling months ahead of them and strong buyer demand in many areas.”