Zoopla is urging serious sellers to seek advice to price their home correctly in order to achieve a timely sale, after its latest House Price Index revealed that UK house price growth has slowed to 1.4% following a jump in the number of homes for sale, which is boosting buyer choice.
Affordability is also a drag on prices growth in higher priced markets – there are modest house price falls (-0.2%) in markets with values of over £500,000.
Meanwhile, the average time to sell is 45 days, although over one in five (22%) homes has been on the market for over six months without achieving a sale.
House price growth falls as market loses momentum – London Wallet
Industry reactions:
Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, commented: “It’s encouraging to see further house price growth, as people continue to approach the buying and selling process with improved certainty. Although we are still seeing elevated base rates currently sitting at 4.25 per cent, we are starting to see some high street lenders offering sub 4 per cent mortgage deals.
“We have witnessed the recent announcement of a National Housing Bank which hopes to combine a public investment of £16bn and a potential private investment of £53bn to help make 500,000 new homes a reality, which will likely be universally beneficial to all when it comes to homeownership.
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “The current supply glut has put downwards pressure on asking prices, which sellers must take into account if they need to transact sooner rather than later. Geopolitical and tariff risks appear to be fading, which points to a smoother ride for the housing market in the second half of the year, which should be boosted by at least two rate cuts. However, the government’s non-existent financial headroom means tax rise speculation is likely to intensify ahead of the autumn Budget in a re-run of last year.”
Sarah Cartlidge, branch Manager at Fraser Reeves, commented: “We’re delighted to be seeing increased vendor confidence this year, with more properties coming on to the market than 2024, however, property price remains key to agreeing a sale.
“We’re always keen to emphasise to prospective vendors that they do need to price positively and realistically from the get-go, in order to secure a good buyer in good time, and to make the best first impression possible when their property hits the market.
“We know that any property can sell for the right price, taking into account the local competition and the particular characteristics of each individual home.”
House price growth falls as market loses momentum
