UK property website Rightmove reports post-election bounce

LONDON (Reuters) - The number of British people looking to move house jumped sharply in the four days that followed last week's election, during what is normally a quiet time of year for the housing market, property website Rightmove said on Thursday.

Rightmove, whose asking price data is used as an early guide to house price trends, said demand from prospective buyers between Dec. 13 and Dec. 16 was 28% higher than over the equivalent period in 2018.

"We often see a spike following an election, but it's more surprising this year given the seasonal slowdown," Rightmove's commercial director, Miles Shipside, said.

The biggest increases in demand came in London, Edinburgh and the Scottish borders, Rightmove added.

(Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce)