Summer slowdown? Not from where we’re sitting. The home moving market continued to deliver results, reports and regional data as it moved through July. Here are 11 things we learnt about buying, selling, renting and investing over the last 4 weeks.
1) Sellers adjust expectations: another small decrease to the UK’s average asking price was recorded by Rightmove in July, following a marginal drop in June. The portal says the average asking price for a new-to-market home fell 0.4%, resting at £373,493. Rightmove says a slightly lower asking price reflects sellers’ desire to attract attention during the summer.
Sales and seller numbers outperform 2023
2) No seasonal slowdown: despite summer being packed full of distractions, the home moving market is moving fluidly. Rightmove says the number of sales agreed is 15% above the level seen at the same point in 2023. The number of new sellers is also 3% up on last year.
Average house price nudges up
3) Small gains for sellers: Zoopla’s July House Price Index cast light on how much the UK’s average home costs. This is now £265,600 – an increase of £200 between May and June 2024. Semi-detached and terraced houses both saw their values rise the most – increasing by 0.7%
4) Regional differences show: some regions are pulling away when it comes to house price growth. Property values in Northern Ireland are up 3.9% year-on-year, according to Zoopla’s index. Scotland followed with a 1.4% increase, with Wales posting 1.1% uplift. Manchester was England’s best performer, with prices rising 1.8% in 12 months.
5) Confidence to come to market continues: purchasers have more choice in July, with an increasing number of homes coming to market. Zoopla says new instructions are 16% higher now when compared to a year ago. In fact, the average estate agent has 33 homes for sale.
6) The return of the sub 4% residential mortgage: even before 1st August’s interest rate cut to 5%, lenders were preparing to reprice home loans. Santander, HSBC and Barclays were among those who reduced their mortgage rates in July. Nationwide repriced its two-, three- and five-year fixed rate products, with rates as low as 3.99%.
7) Cut to buy-to-let mortgages too: it wasn’t only owner-occupier mortgages that saw rates take a tumble. Specialist buy-to-let mortgage rates were also reduced in July. Among those making adjustments were TML and Molo.
8) Demand for rentals continues: new analysis by Rightmove has exposed the levels of competition in the UK’s rental market. The portal says 17 would-be tenants are chasing each available rental property. For comparison, only 8 tenants pursued every property in 2019.
9) Tenants paying more across the UK: three reputable sources claim rents have increased during the past month. HomeLet says the average UK rent has risen 0.2% to £1,299 a month. Rightmove reports the average monthly rent outside of London has risen to £1,314, with it now costing £2,661 in the capital. Goodlord has the average cost of a rental property in England at £1,470 - up 7.5% year-on-year.
10) Regional rent rises laid bare: when HomeLet compared the average monthly rent in June 2023 to June 2024, each region outside of England had seen an increase. Annual growth of 11.1% was noted in Northern Ireland. This was followed by year-on-year rental gains of 6.3% in Scotland and 5.7% in Wales.
11) The forecast is for more increases: when Landbay questioned existing landlords, almost 85% intended to raise rents in the coming 12 months, with 37% aiming to increase rents somewhere between 6% and 10%. Additionally, 36% said they plan to raise rents by up to 5%, with 8% planning an increase between 11% and 19%.
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