Britain’s property owners are turning more cautious about asking for higher prices, according to a survey from the online property search website Rightmove.
(Bloomberg) — Britain’s property owners are turning more cautious about asking for higher prices, according to a survey from the online property search website Rightmove.
Average asking prices rose 1.7% from a year ago in April to £366,247 ($454,570), the slowest pace since December 2019 before the pandemic and government tax breaks triggered a frenzy of buying. The monthly pace of increase slowed to 0.2% from 0.8% in March.
The figures point to a slowly stagnating market where a shortage of new properties for sale is keeping prices aloft despite a jump in mortgage rates and double-digit inflation. House prices rocketed during Covid-19 lockdowns, when government reduced duties on sales to boost demand.
“Agents are reporting that many sellers have transitioned out of the frenzied multi-bid market mindset of recent years and understand the new need to tempt Spring buyers with a competitive price,” Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science, said in a statement Monday.
While asking price growth slowed, first-time buyers faced record prices, and there were signs of improving confidence among buyers and sellers.
Rightmove said that property sales bounced back to levels in line with pre-pandemic norms. Data for March showed the number of houses on sale at estate agents improved for a second month and the average time to find a buyer for a property declined to 55 days.
“The current unexpectedly stable conditions may tempt more sellers to enter the market who had been considering a move in the last few years but had been put off by its frenetic pace,” Bannister said.
London and the North East of England were the only regions to see prices fall compared to the previous month. Prices were flat in the capital compared to a year earlier with the affluent borough of Kensington and Chelsea suffering the biggest fall.
Closely-watched indicators have been sending conflicting signals about the health of the housing market in recent months.
While Nationwide’s house price index shows the biggest falls since 2009, Rightmove’s suggests a more stable picture. Official data indicates that average prices were still 5.5% higher in February than a year earlier but edged down on the month.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.