The spring selling season is picking up speed in the UK housing market, where asking prices for homes has risen to a record level. The online property portal Rightmove reports this morning that the average price of property coming to the market for sale hit a new record of £375,131 in the last month, up 0.8% on April. However, that only leaves average asking prices 0.6% higher than a year ago. Today’s data shows that activity has picked up this year, with 17% more sales in the first four months of 2024 than in 2023 despite the Bank of England maintaining base rate at 5.25%. Rightmove reckons that “pent-up demand from would-be buyers” who dropped out of the market last year is now driving the market, even though mortgage rates have remained high for longer than expected. Asking prices are not the same as selling prices, of course – recent data has shown a drop in sales prices. Last month, several leading UK lenders raised their fixed-rate mortgage deals, but this has started to reverse with some lenders cutting rates last week. Rightmove reports that price growth is being driven by the top-of-the-ladder properties, where asking prices are 1.3% higher than last year. These properties tend to be less sensitive to high mortgage rates. Remarkably, Rightmove also reckons that people hoping to sell their home and move before Christmas should start taking action now. They report that it is taking 62 days on average to find a buyer before the legal process of selling the house even begins. Rightmove’s Tim Bannister says the “extremely lengthy legal completion process” is a frustrating barrier for home movers to get over. Bannister explains: "It may seem surreal to be thinking about Christmas in May, but we know that many would-be sellers picture celebrating the festivities in a new home, and to achieve that, now is the time to be coming to market. "One strategy that is still giving some sellers the edge in this price-sensitive market, is working closely with an estate agent to price attractively right at the start of marketing, to give themselves the best chance of finding a buyer quickly." The agenda • 9am BST: City minister Bim Afolami gives speech on “realising the benefits of economic sovereignty to reinforce the UK’s capital markets” at CityWeek conference • 10am BST: Bank of England deputy governor Ben Broadbent gives speech on “New evidence on the Monetary Transmission Mechanism workshop” • 11am BST: Spanish consumer confidence for April We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
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