House asking prices edged up in the last month according to Rightmove, as buyers and sellers ramped up activity in the busiest period in the home selling calendar.
The property website reported an 0.8 per cent uptick in May, meaning the typical asking price is now £375,131.
That is a new record, and up £2,807 compared to April. It is the fifth month in a row in which asking prices have risen, according to Rightmove’s index.
Shoots of growth: Asking prices have risen slightly, though experts say the housing market will not be in full bloom until mortgage rates start to reduce
However, prices are still only 0.6 per cent higher than this time a year ago thanks to a series of asking price falls in late 2023 and early 2024, which the market is only just bouncing back from.
Many would-be buyers paused their plans last year due to increases in mortgage rates, and Rightmove said they were now returning to the market which had helped push up prices.
Sales agreed have also risen 17 per cent in the first four full months of this year compared to last, in part thanks to this effect.
However, mortgage rates remain high and Rightmove’s director of property science, Tim Bannister, noted that: ‘The market remains price-sensitive, and with prices reaching new records in the majority of regions and mortgage rates remaining elevated, affordability for many home-buyers is still stretched.’
Lenders Barclays and HSBC both reduced some of their mortgage rates this week, though, leading some brokers to predict that the tide could be turning.
> See the latest rates you could get using our mortgage finder tool
Ups and downs: Average asking prices have moved in both directions in the last year
Fifth in a row: Asking prices have gone up since the beginning of this year, Rightmove says
Increased activity also means the time it takes to complete a sale is on the rise. Rightmove noted a ‘painful’ 154-day average between agreeing a sale and legal completion.
With an average of 62 days needed to find a buyer before the legal process begins, the property portal advised would-be sellers hoping to be in a new home for Christmas to take action now.
Nathan Emerson, chief executive of estate agent body Propertymark, said: ‘Spring heading into summer is traditionally a busy time for the housing market and these latest figures may prove an ideal inspiration for sellers to use this as an opportunity to place their property on the market.
‘Buyers and sellers are adapting to current inflation levels and higher interest rates, however the more these two factors come downward, the more likely that there will be a further stimulation in housing market growth.’
Slow going: It is taking 62 days to find a buyer, and a total of 154 to complete the entire sale process from start to finish, according to the property portal’s data
Family homes and North East in high demand
Large family homes at the top of the ladder outperformed the market when it came to asking prices, rising 1.6 per cent over the last month to £682,661.
That is compared to homes for second steppers, which rose 0.2 per cent to £343,268, and first-time buyers who saw asking prices go up 0.4 per cent to £228,003.
Rightmove defines the top of the ladder as all homes with five beds and above, as well as four bed detached houses.
Second stepper homes cover all three-beds and four-beds which are not detached, while first-time buyer properties are those with two beds or fewer.
Over the past year, top of the ladder homes have risen 1.3 per cent, second stepper homes 0.5 per cent and first-time buyer homes 0.7 per cent.
Nick Leeming, chairman of estate agent Jackson-Stops said: Seasonal demand and an uptick in listings has helped to boost spring transactions, although some may still be waiting in the wings for an elusive interest rate drop to ease affordability constraints.
‘In particular, demand for detached homes and prime country properties are attracting the highest competition from buyers, as beauty spots come into their own, with the sun finally out and people aiming to move by the end of the year.’
Geographically, the South East saw the biggest uptick in asking prices over the month, chalking up a 1.4 per cent rise – though it is still down 0.1 per cent year-on-year.
The North East has seen the biggest annual rise, with asking prices up by a huge 5.8 per cent – far more than any other region. It still has the cheapest average prices in the UK, however, at £190,158.
Hot up north: The North East has seen the biggest jump in asking prices in the past year
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