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The Bank of England's new 5.25% interest rate is not expected to stop house prices taking another move upwards.
An acute shortage of upmarket homes for sale is expected to have a far greater impact on prices that the small monthly fall in values in December claimed by the Halifax.
And the sealed bid system, now a far more common policy adopted by sellers, holds no fears for City types who pocketed large bonuses before Christmas.
Jonathan Haward managing director of County Homesearch Company, told property guru Jeremy Gates the number of sealed bid sales soared in 2006, even though they can be incredibly stressful for potential buyers often unfamiliar with the process and unsure how to handle the situation to their advantage.
That's not a problem for City slickers despite intense competition for high quality period family houses, especially Georgian. Growing competition for a static number of properties can only push prices upwards.
Mr Haward said: "After the flood of bonuses, particularly from the City, buyers often add £50,000 or more to the guide prices to avoid all the uncertainties of moving. People don't mind going over the top because most of them expect a good bonus next year too. If money gets the home they want they are not worried about the idea of over-paying."
A local estate agent said some offers dwarfed guide prices in Hampshire and Surrey, regarded as "favoured counties" with Oxfordshire, Devon and Dorset.
Essential to people in our area is the ease of getting to London, so City bonuses are probably behind sales being concluded at 35-50% above guide.
"We see bids as much as £250,000 above guide price on properties above £1million," said one happy estate agent.
However, Richard Donnell, research director at property databank Homesearch thought that some high bidders could come unstuck by the end of 2007.
"I see little early improvement in the current situation. Housing market turnover is at a low level in a market driven by people who already have housing deciding to gear up to buy something bigger and better. It is not driven by first time buyers, many of whom simply can't participate at current price levels.
"If there was a huge slowdown in demand, for whatever reason, or buyers got sensitive about economic prospects, agents would soon be harassing clients to cut prices. A simple change in general expectations would soon see asking prices plunging from £600,000 to £540,000.
"At some point, behaviour in this market will have to change because people cannon keep bidding prices upwards.
"Demand will fall because of rising interest rates, some other item of economic news or an external factor we can't emvisage at present."
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