Buyer demand remains resilient, being 3% higher than 2019, says Rightmove’s latest research with right-priced homes attracting motivated buyers due to a shortage of property for sale compared to historic norms. The monthly House Price Index also shows that that the average price of a property coming on to the market has dropped by £905 this month to £371,907 as new sellers temper their price expectations in response to recent Base Rate rises and increasing buyer affordability constraints. Rightmove adds that price trends have proved more resilient than most expected during the first half of the year, with average asking prices now 2.6% higher than in January. However, the brakes on the economy being applied by the Bank of England to combat the surprisingly sticky inflation figures are biting, with the number of sales agreed in June now being 12% behind 2019’s more normal market level, contrasting with the surprisingly strong first five months of the year.
Tim Bannister Rightmove’s Director of Property Science says: “First-time buyers, trader-uppers and downsizers with higher deposits and lower mortgage requirements appear to be still keenly searching the market, not wanting to miss out on the right property that is not over-priced and that they can still afford.”
