The prices of homes being put up for sale in Britain have increased in annual terms for the first time in six months as demand from purchasers improved, according to Rightmove.
The property portal said that asking prices for residential properties rose 0.1% in February compared a year earlier, the first annual increase since August 2023.
Prices increased by 0.9% from January, broadly in line with the 10-year average of a monthly 1% rise in February.
The data also reveals that agreed sales in the first six weeks of 2024 are 16% higher than over the same period last year, and 3% higher than in the more normal market of 2019.
The growing market momentum is also evidenced by the increase in activity of both buyers and sellers on Rightmove with 7% more new listings coming to market than last year, and a 7% upturn in the number of buyers enquiring.
However, the market remains very price-sensitive, and appears to be operating at two speeds, with properties that are priced accurately being snapped up by budget-conscious buyers, whilst over-priced properties are left on the shelf:
It is taking more than two weeks longer to find a buyer than at this time last year, with the average time to sell at its slowest since 2015, excluding the initial pandemic lockdown months of April & May 2020
Rightmove’s Tim Bannister commented: “We said that February would be an important indicator for the year ahead, and the question was whether the Rightmove Boxing Day bounce in buyer activity would keep its spring into March or lose momentum. It’s proved to be the former, with the number of sales agreed continuing to considerably outstrip last year.
“Early-bird Boxing Day buyers got a head start in cherry picking from a record level of new property choice and have now been joined by many other buyers also believing that 2024 offers the right market conditions to move. Mortgage rates have fallen considerably from their peak and are now remaining broadly stable after the uncertainty of late 2022 and 2023.
“Momentum to move in 2024 is continuing to build, but prospective sellers mustn’t get carried away. Buyers now have more choice of property for sale and many are still very price-sensitive, with mortgage rates remaining elevated. Sellers who are serious about moving this year would be well-advised to ride this wave of increased buyer confidence with an attractive asking price before any pre-election jitters or unexpected events dampen the momentum.”
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