House asking price rise by 3.5 percent

House sellers in the UK hiked their asking prices by more than 8,000 pounds in October in the biggest jump seen in eight months, the property website Rightmove said Monday.  The typical property asking price rose by 3.5 percent month-on-month to 243, 168 pounds, as all regions across England and Wales saw prices increase.  The property search website said the autumn rebound showed "evidence of some life in the market", although it suggested the upturn is most likely to be due to a lack of properties for sale, meaning would-be buyers have less choice.  The jump means prices are 1.5 percent higher than a year ago and goes some way to reversing an 11,000 pounds drop in prices between June and September, when the market saw a lull amid distractions like the Olympics.  London, which has had strong overseas buyer interest and continues to perform relatively strongly, saw the biggest monthly increase in asking prices, with a 4.8 percent jump taking average prices to 478,071 pounds.  Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said increase in asking prices "is most likely attributable to the continued shortage of new property supply".  But he cautioned, "Sellers need to be mindful that the window of opportunity to sell before the traditional winter slowdown is a narrow one, and they risk being left out in the cold for months until the spring market thaw".