UK property asking prices rise for first time since May, Rightmove says

LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - British property sellers have increased the prices they want for their homes for the first time since May, real estate website Rightmove said on Monday.

Prices for property put up for sale rose by 0.7% between August 9 and September 12, a slightly bigger monthly increase than average for the time of year and following a drop of 2.0% in the preceding four weeks, it said.

Rightmove also said:

• Asking ⁠prices were 0.8% lower than a year earlier, after a 1.0% annual drop in Rightmove's August report

• The number of homes available to purchase hit a 12-year high

• The number of buyer enquiries was 9% lower than this time last year

• "September’s above-average price rise is a welcome sign ofconfidence after a particularly subdued summer, but it should be viewed as a modest recovery," Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove said.

• The average two-year fixed mortgage interest rate rose to 5.29% from 5.09% and there was little prospect of an end to the Iran war which has pushed up borrowing costs.

(Writing by William Schomberg; editing William James)