Average asking price of a home jumps by £4,500 in a month, says Rightmove
The average price tag on a home in January climbed by nearly £4,500 month-on-month, according to property website Rightmove.
With a 1.3% increase, that puts the average listing price of a new property at £359,748 across Britain. However, these figures are still 0.7% lower than this time last year.
Rightmove also noted that there are 15% more new properties for sale compared to last year. They stressed that competitive pricing is important as the number of new listings is currently outstripping buyer demand.
In the first week of 2024, 5% more people contacted estate agents about homes for sale compared to the same period in 2023. The most notable activity growth happened in London and North East England. And as we step into January, the number of sales agreed has already surpassed that of last year's early days.
Looking at this promising start, Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science commented: "After a stop-start market in 2023, the initial signs suggest a smoother year for movers in 2024."
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"More new sellers are now entering the market, and with more confident pricing. While the increased level of buyer activity that we're also seeing may justify some of this increased pricing confidence from sellers, it's important that sellers who are keen to find a buyer don't get carried away with New Year enthusiasm when setting their price expectations."
"Elevated mortgage rates and the wider cost-of-living squeeze are still limiting buyers' spending power."
"Accurate and realistic pricing for their local area is the recipe for success for sellers looking to get moving in 2024."
Estate agents also shared their views on the matter.
Chris Rowson, managing director at Sharman Quinney in Cambridgeshire, commented: "Future sellers are getting their valuation appointments booked in, future buyers are inquiring and getting their viewings booked in and we're also seeing really high demand for mortgage appointments, as movers seek to understand their affordability and position at the start of the year."
He added: "Most importantly, we're seeing offers being made, and a high number at that. It is early days and not a time to get carried away, but we've had a good start."
Paul Bayliss, who works at the Square Room Estate Agents in Lancashire, shared: "We've seen a lot of activity from first-time buyers, now ready to make their move at the start of the year, and with mortgage rates more settled, we're also starting to see upsizers return who are now more confident to take out a larger mortgage for a bigger home." He added, "The market is just getting started, but we're optimistic about what 2024 can bring."
Hamptons, an estate and lettings agent, reported that the average rent for a new place in Britain went up by 10.2% in December compared to last year. This is the biggest jump they've seen at the end of the year since they started keeping track in 2014.
They said the average rent for a new place in December 2023 was £1,340.
Because rents went up by 10.2% over the year, people moving into a new place might have had to pay about £124 more each month. That's an extra £1,488 for the whole year.
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Hamptons thinks that as mortgage rates go down, rent prices might not go up as much. This is because landlords might not have to pay as much when they change their mortgage deals compared to last year.
Aneisha Beveridge, who does research at Hamptons, mentioned: "Pressures on the rental market show few signs of abating." She explained that rent prices have been going up more than other prices in general, mainly because landlords have to pay a lot more due to higher interest rates.
"Slightly lower mortgage rates in 2024 should alleviate some of these pressures and take some of the heat out of the rental market, but tenants will probably continue facing bigger rent increases than they did pre-Covid."
The Hamptons lettings index uses data from the Countrywide Group to track changes to the cost of renting and is based on achieved rather than advertised rents.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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