UK house sales prices are near a record high after their biggest annual rise in a year, according to an industry survey that suggested momentum in the housing market at the start of 2024 continued into April. Residential property asking prices rose 1.7% in the four weeks to April 13 compared with the same period last year. Prices sought by sellers rose 1.1% quarter-on-quarter, a slowdown from the 1.5% gain in the previous four weeks. The average asking price from new sellers is £372,324 ($463,320), just £570 below the record price in May 2023.
Other indicators of the UK housing market also point to a recovery in demand and prices, helped by a fall in borrowing costs in 2022, when former Prime Minister Liz Truss’s sweeping tax cut plan roiled financial markets and led to Costs soared. The number of new sellers increased by 12% compared with the same period last year, and the number of sales increased by 13%. Demand is strongest at the top end of the market, with asking price increases so far in 2024 the highest since 2014.
Surveys show first- and second-time homebuyers generally rely more on mortgages and see smaller increases in demand for properties. Although the current situation is optimistic, these are not the conditions to support a significant price increase, and sellers keen to ensure sales still need to price realistically based on the local market and avoid being too ambitious.
