Zoopla has published fresh data today revealing  buyer behaviour and user trends in 2023, as mortgage rates dominated the market.

Homeowners, and those looking to buy or move home, Googled a mortgage-related term almost every 23 seconds in 2023, latest findings from property website shows.

As a result of the Bank of England hiking the interest base rate from 0.1% to 5.25% in a bid to tackle soaring inflation, it is of little surprise that homeowners have been consumed by what is happening to mortgages.

The property portal says that mortgage-related terms have been searched for almost a million times (948,000) with a 62% increase in searches for the term ‘mortgage rates’ and a 43% increase in searches for ‘mortgage repayment calculator’ as homeowners grappled with rising inflation and the cost of living crisis.

In tandem, there has also been an increase in searches for ‘when will interest rates go down’ (85%) and a 43% increase for ‘interest rate predictions’ as the nation waited to see what the Bank of England would do next.

This has been particularly bad news for first time buyers with buying power hit by up to 20% across the UK with only half (52% decrease) of the usual first time buyer related search terms seen year on year. As a result, Zoopla estimates that there have been 15.5% fewer first time buyers in the past 12 months from September 2023.

With fluctuating mortgage rates making affordability central for many homeowners, 2023 was a year that saw the public searching in new ways for their ‘dream home’ as value became front of mind.

According to Zoopla data, March was the most popular month for completions for both new homes and existing properties thanks to a surge in market activity at the beginning of the year, whilst users (sessions) reached their highest point in July. The average time to sell a property was 34 days – up from 25 days in 2022, as three bed homes remain the most in demand property type this year.

When looking at onsite searches, ‘freehold’ takes the top spot for keyword searches on Zoopla.co.uk, moving from third place in 2022. ‘Annexe’ also moves up one spot to third space in 2023, perhaps reflecting the growing trend of intergenerational living for many families, as a third of UK households are classed as ‘multi-generational’. ‘Garage’ remains in the top three list of keyword searches as it did in 2022.

All keyword searches reveal the most popular terms to be: Freehold, Garage, Annexe, Acre, Garden, Pool, Cottage, Rural, Seaview, and Ensuite

Potential homeowners were also searching for a range of homes across the UK with seven out of 10 of the top 10 most viewed properties being affordable family homes, or doer-uppers. Only three homes in this list are multi-million pound properties, indicating that 2023 was the year many homeowners became realistic about what they can afford, and therefore what they have been viewing.

Recent Zoopla data revealed that the most affordable town to purchase property in Britain is Cumnock, Scotland, based on price to earnings ratio. However, another Scottish area – Inverclyde – takes the top spot as the cheapest local authority in the UK with an average house price of £103,200.

Unsurprisingly, Kensington and Chelsea in London is the most expensive local authority in the UK with an average house price ten times the amount of a house in Inverclyde, at £1,209,100. But a home in Kensington, London takes the prize for one of the most expensive houses sold in the UK in 2023 at a huge £36,500,000.

And for those not wishing to move to Scotland or London, house price growth in 2023 has been strongest in Calderdale, Yorkshire (+3.1%) but weakest in Dover, Kent (-0.7%): proving a very real reversal in pandemic trends for home owners to move to coastal areas.

What’s next for the housing market in 2024?

Zoopla says housing affordability needs to improve to price more buyers back to the market and support more sales. UK house prices have fallen less than expected over 2023 but together with 5% mortgage rates, it means purchasing a property still remains relatively expensive for an average household.

To see a meaningful reset when it comes to affordability, house prices will need to fall further as incomes increase. Assuming mortgage rates drop to 4.5% by the end of 2024, Zoopla expects that house price growth will remain negative with prices down 2% next year. A faster fall in mortgage rates towards 4% would boost sales activity rather than house prices.

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