Data published by property website Rightmove showed that in the four weeks to April 13, asking prices for residential real estate jumped by 1.7% per annum (the sharpest increase in a year), to 372,324 pounds, which is only 570 pounds below the record reached in May 2023. Prices thought by sellers rose by 1.1% m/m, slowing from a 1.5% increase in the previous four weeks.
Other housing market data also signal a recovery in demand and prices, helped by lower borrowing costs after a sharp increase in 2022, when plans for drastic tax cuts upset financial markets.
Rightmove also said that in the four weeks to April 13, the number of new sellers increased by 12% per annum, and the number of sales increased by 13% per annum. Demand was highest in the luxury real estate segment, where asking prices have increased at the sharpest pace in 10 years since the beginning of the year.
Research has shown that demand for properties typically conceived by first- and second-time buyers - who are typically more mortgage-dependent rose by less.