The asking asking price for a residential property for sale in Britain this month is 1.3% higher than a year earlier, pushing the average price above a previous record set in May 2024, Rightmove revealed this morning.

The average price for a property advertised between March 9 and April 5 was a record £377,182, up 1.4% month-on-month.

Purchasers had been rushing to complete property purchases before the end of March to benefit from temporarily reduced stamp duty taxes.

Rightmove said the number of agreed sales had fallen since the deadline, but that compared with a year ago the number of potential buyers was still up 5% while the number of homes for sale had risen by 4%.

Asking prices hit record high as buyers absorb stamp duty rise – Property Industry Eye

Industry reactions: 

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, commented: “It is encouraging to witness the housing market continue to deliver growth, despite the increasingly complex economic challenges we face at the moment. 

“Although the rush from many people in England and Northern Ireland to beat stamp duty threshold changes has now concluded, we now progress into the spring and summer months, which typically deliver strong momentum for the sector.

Emerson added: “We remain in a position where inflation is on a potential uneven footing, and this may impact any decision the Bank of England might make regarding interest rates when they next meet on 8 May.”

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “The recent tariff turbulence underlines why sellers need to be realistic when setting asking prices, particularly in a market where supply is rising more quickly than demand.

“The economic backdrop is bumpy but downwards pressure on mortgage rates as financial markets increasingly price in the risk of an economic slowdown will be positive for demand.

“The risk is that tariffs prove to be inflationary and start putting upwards pressure on borrowing costs, but we still expect modest single-digit house price growth this year as needs-based buyers drive demand.”

Phill Sandbach, director at John German, said: “March was a very busy month, with more completions than in the post pandemic stamp duty holiday. Solicitors worked really hard to get so many movers through. April has started off as a busy month for us, with market appraisal requests, viewings and offers across all of our East and West Midlands offices. We haven’t seen a downturn in our activity yet due to the tariff situation, but we do expect some economic headwinds as a result. Indications are that with an expected reduction in mortgage rates over the summer we will see a stable market in the first half of the year. It remains a constant that correct pricing is absolutely key to a successful sale, anything overpriced will be overlooked by buyers.”

Tom Brown, MD, Real Estate at Ingenious, said: “Today’s data shows that the resilience and appeal of the UK property sector persist. Though we have seen higher inflation and sticky borrowing rates, we welcome the BoE’s recent rate cut and what will hopefully be the start of the much needed falling rate cycle.

“There’s clearly a significant and notable shortage of housing inventory across various price brackets and locations. Consequently, any decline in homeowner sales is likely counterbalanced by increased demand from renters and investors. This is a trend that is not going away. However, it’s crucial to recognise that the situation isn’t consistent nationwide or across different property pricing brackets. It’s helpful to delve into subsectors and regional dynamics when assessing opportunities, as a broad market view can be misleading. In the real estate sector, we’re seeing significant investment capital for assets for long-term rental. On account of their scale and buying power, these typically institutional investors face fewer disruptions than owner occupiers or small-scale Buy-to-let investors.”

Alex Caddy, manager at Clarkes Estate and Letting Agency, added: “We’ve seen confidence pick up in the market after a bit of a rocky March for us. It appears that some would-be-movers may have been holding back to see if last month’s Bank Rate decision and spring statement brought any good news for the housing market, but since then we have seen buyer activity and new listings pick up for the spring season. The market is certainly still price sensitive while supply remains high. Things are moving well when priced appropriately, and particularly popular homes can even go for above asking price. Naturally, those who may not be in a rush are testing the market with higher asking prices, in those cases viewing requests are far lower, indicating buyers are still price sensitive.”

Asking prices hit record high as buyers absorb stamp duty rise