The cost of new property coming to market has risen by 1.4% so far in April despite the stamp duty thresholds rising, Rightmove’s House Price Index has revealed.
This brings prices to a record £377,182, while it comes despite there being a decade-high number of homes for sale at this time of year.
At the start of the month the minimum stamp duty threshold fell to £125,000 or £300,000 for first-time buyers, down from £250,000 and £425,000 for first-time buyers.
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: “Confidence from new sellers is a good sign for the overall health of the market, but they do need to be careful when setting their asking price.
“The high level of supply in the market right now means that buyers are likely to have plenty of homes in their area to choose from, and an overpriced home will stick out for the wrong reasons.
“Our research also shows that getting the price right the first time is key. Homes that don’t need a reduction in price are more likely to find a buyer, and to find that buyer in less than half the time.”
Most of the Midlands and Northern regions, as well as Wales and Scotland, are seeing above average increases in demand versus last year, and all have seen new price records this month.
In contrast the higher-priced South West and South East are seeing smaller increases in buyer demand and prices.
London appears to be an outlier; despite being the only region with fewer buyers enquiring than at this time a year ago, average asking prices in London have also reached a new record this month, driven by inner London.
With London typically being more exposed to the impacts of geopolitical tensions, as well as currently seeing weaker demand trends, Rightmove said we may see this price trend fall back.
Babcock added: “Since the stamp duty increase, the level of agreed sales falling through has remained steady. This indicates that there has been no major pull-out from agreed deals by first-time buyers and home-movers who were unable to complete before the tax rise.
“The last-minute rush to complete sales from those who were fortunate enough to be able to beat the deadline, means that the queue of buyers waiting to complete their purchase has eased by nearly 24,000 or 4%.
“It’s the first time that this queue has dropped during the month of March since the pandemic in 2020, though it has now started to tick up again.”
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “The recent tariff turbulence underlines why sellers need to be realistic when setting asking prices, particularly in a market where supply is rising more quickly than demand.
“The economic backdrop is bumpy but downwards pressure on mortgage rates as financial markets increasingly price in the risk of an economic slowdown will be positive for demand.
“The risk is that tariffs prove to be inflationary and start putting upwards pressure on borrowing costs but we still expect modest single-digit house price growth this year as needs-based buyers drive demand.”
Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, said: “So far this year it has been a positive few months for the housing market with transaction levels improving, although still below pre-pandemic levels. This comparatively subdued activity illustrates how big an impact higher interest rates have had on the market and sentiment.
“All eyes are on the Bank of England to see whether there will be a further reduction in May, with any assistance here likely to boost activity now that the stamp duty concession has ended. Indeed, buyers may await further reductions before making their move.”
Source link
