Average Asking Prices in Britain’s Housing Market

LONDON (Reuters) – Average asking prices for newly listed homes in Britain had their biggest start-of-the-year increase since 2020, but uncertainty about the pace of interest rate cuts looms over the market, property website Rightmove said on Monday.

The average price of properties coming to market rose by 1.7% between Dec. 8 and Jan. 11 to 366,189 pounds ($445,944), which is 9,000 pounds below a peak hit in May last year.

Compared with the same period a year ago, asking prices were 1.8% higher. Rightmove noted that Britain’s housing market gained some momentum last year with hopes that borrowing costs would decline, although slower-than-expected rate cuts diminished some demand.

According to Rightmove, the number of new properties coming to market since Dec. 26 was up 11% from the previous year, while the number of buyers contacting agents regarding properties for sale increased by 9%, and agreed sales rose by 11%.

Colleen Babcock, head of partner marketing at Rightmove, stated that despite the positive start to the year, many buyers are struggling to afford new homes due to high mortgage rates. Furthermore, the expiration of a lower property purchase tax rate for less expensive homes in April poses an additional challenge for buyers.

“The market needs a boost to sustain that momentum, ideally through early and ongoing Bank Rate cuts, which should help to reduce mortgage rates,” Babcock added.

The Bank of England is widely expected to lower its benchmark Bank Rate from 4.75% to 4.5% on Feb. 6 after its next scheduled monetary policy meeting.

($1 = 0.8212 pounds)