UK home asking prices surged in September, rising at more than double the long term average for September. Post-election stability and falling mortgage rates have clearly boosted buyer demand, giving sellers renewed confidence. Markets expect the BoE to keep interest rates on hold when policymakers next meet on September 19, with another cut forecast in November and then further cuts throughout 2025.
According to data from Rightmove, the average asking price increased by 1% from the previous month, reaching £370,759 in the four weeks leading to mid-September.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science, said: “Both buyers and sellers have bounced back compared to last year’s slower market, continuing the momentum from a stronger-than-expected summer.” He noted that the certainty brought by a new government and the first Bank of England rate cut in four years had “re-energized the market, creating an opportunity for movers.”
The majority of the growth was driven by larger properties with the cost of four-bedroom, detached properties and larger houses rising 0.8 per cent. The average asking price of three and non-detached four-bed properties rose by a monthly rate of 0.7 per cent, while smaller property costs registered a much weaker expansion of 0.2 per cent.
The forthcoming budget will of course have an impact on buyer and seller sentiment. We wouldn’t expect the new Government to leave the housing market untouched but we can hope they will appreciate how overheated the private rental market is right now. Policy or taxation that serves to reduce or restrict housing supply would be disastrous for tenants, lets watch this space.
