House sales prices have risen slightly in the last month according to Rightmove, as buyers and sellers increased activity in the busiest period in the house sales calendar.
The property website reported a 0.8 per cent rise in May, meaning the typical asking price is now £375,131.
This is a new record and an increase of £2,807 compared to April. It is the fifth consecutive month that sales prices have increased, according to the Rightmove index.
Growth spurts: Sales prices have increased slightly, although experts say the housing market won’t be in full bloom until mortgage rates begin to decline.
However, prices are still only 0.6 percent higher than a year ago thanks to a series of sales price declines in late 2023 and early 2024, from which the market is barely recovering.
Many would-be buyers put their plans on hold last year due to rises in mortgage rates, and Rightmove said they were now returning to the market that had helped drive up prices.
Agreed sales have also increased by 17 percent in the first four full months of this year compared to last year, partly thanks to this effect.
However, mortgage rates remain high and Rightmove property science director Tim Bannister said: “The market remains price sensitive, and with prices hitting new records in most regions and rates Mortgage rates remain high, affordability for many homebuyers is still stretched.
However, lenders Barclays and HSBC cut some of their mortgage rates this week, leading some brokers to predict the tide could be turning.
> See the latest rates you can get using our mortgage search tool
Ups and downs: Average sales prices have moved in both directions over the past year
Fifth in a row: asking prices have risen since the beginning of this year, says Rightmove
Increased activity also means that the time required to complete a sale is increasing. Rightmove noted a “painful” average of 154 days between agreeing a sale and legal completion.
Since it takes an average of 62 days to find a buyer before the legal process begins, the property portal advised potential sellers hoping to be in a new home by Christmas to take action now.
Nathan Emerson, chief executive of estate agency Propertymark, said: “Spring leading into summer is traditionally a busy time for the property market and these latest figures may prove ideal inspiration for sellers to use this as an opportunity. to place your property on the market. market.
“Buyers and sellers are adjusting to current levels of inflation and higher interest rates; however, the lower these two factors fall, the more likely there will be a greater stimulus to housing market growth.”
Slow: It takes 62 days to find a buyer, and a total of 154 to complete the entire sales process from start to finish, according to data from the real estate portal
Family and northeast homes in high demand
Large family homes at the top of the scale have outperformed the market when it comes to asking prices, rising 1.6 per cent over the past month to £682,661.
That compares with homes for second-timers, which rose 0.2 per cent to £343,268, and first-time buyers who saw asking prices rise 0.4 per cent to £228,003.
Rightmove defines the top of the ladder as all homes with five bedrooms or more, as well as four-bedroom detached houses.
Second-stage homes cover all three- and four-bedroom non-detached homes, while first-time properties are those with two bedrooms or less.
Over the past year, top-of-the-range homes increased by 1.3 percent, second-tier homes by 0.5 percent and first-time homes by 0.7 percent.
Nick Leeming, chairman of estate agency Jackson-Stops, said: Seasonal demand and a rebound in listings have helped boost spring transactions, although some may still be waiting in the wings for an elusive drop in interest rates. to ease affordability restrictions.
“In particular, demand for single-family homes and prime rural properties is attracting the most competition from buyers, as beautiful locations become important, the sun finally comes out and people aim to move before the end of the year.”
Geographically, the Southeast saw the largest increase in sales prices during the month, with an increase of 1.4 percent, although it is still down 0.1 percent year-on-year.
The North East has seen the biggest annual rise, with asking prices rising by a whopping 5.8 per cent, far more than any other region. However, it still has the cheapest average prices in the UK at £190,158.
Hot in the North: The North East has seen the biggest increase in sales prices over the last year
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