The average asking price for a UK home remained near its record high in June, with prices dipping by just £21 to £375,110 according to the latest figures from Rightmove, with the looming election having little impact on the market.
This comes on the back of average property asking prices hitting a new record of £375,131 during May, which was the fifth month in a row that prices rose.
Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley
The data shows that in Yorkshire and the Humber the average asking price in June was £254,020 compared to £254,044 in May. This month’s figure is 2.8% higher than at this time last year.
During June Rightmove said agreed sales were up by 6% year-on-year and demand from buyers was up by 5%. A poll of over 14,000 people by Rightmove also found that for 95% of those planning to move, the election will not affect their plans.
In addition, Rightmove revealed that in the two weeks since the surprise election announcement, the number of top-end sellers coming to market is 3% lower than a year ago, versus being 11% higher in the previous two-week period.
Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential at Dacre, Son & Hartley, which has 20 offices in West and North Yorkshire, said: “Rightmove’s latest data shows the housing market maintaining its momentum across a lot of the country in 2024 and that’s certainly what we’re seeing in West and North Yorkshire.
“Across our office network we currently have 12% more sales agreed than at this time last year, in addition to almost 25% more homes listed for sale. This largely supports Rightmove’s findings that 95% of people who plan to move won’t let the election to disrupt their plans.
“Today’s news on inflation could also prove to be positive for home owners too – the return to the Bank of England’s target level of 2% must increase pressure on the Bank to reduce base rates which will be good news to those on tracker mortgages and potentially give some relief to those moving from much cheaper fixed rate products. If the reduction comes, we expect a much more positive market place in the autumn.”
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science, commented: “It’s always difficult to predict how home-movers will react to sudden uncertainty, but looking back through our data, we can see that during previous election campaigns, market activity has remained largely steady. This election has followed a similar pattern so far, and the responses from our poll of over 14,000 people also supports the data, with the vast majority of respondents saying they will carry on with their home-moving plans.
“However, some potential sellers appear to be watching and waiting rather than taking action, evidenced by a dip in the number of new sellers coming to market, particularly at the top-end. This is understandable when many of these sellers have more flexibility over when they act, but overall, it appears to be business as usual for the mass-market.”
Dacre, Son & Hartley was founded more than 200 years ago and is Yorkshire’s largest independent estate agent with 20 offices across North and West Yorkshire.
