April 2024 UK Property Market Update

We are now a third of the way through the year, Spring has arrived (kind of) and the property market is certainly starting to show signs of heating up even if the weather isn’t quite yet!

The number of properties for sale, new listings entering the market and sales being agreed were all on the up in April when compared to previous years, which is evidence that confidence is returning to the market.

Both the average asking prices of new properties coming to market and those having sales agreed were also on the rise in April 2024.

Mortgage approvals were on the up in March and hit their highest number since September 2022.

All of the above are signs that mortgage rates plateauing at around 4.5% (5-year fixed rate at 75% LTV) and mortgage payments being 61% higher than three years ago are not dampening the appetite of people wanting to move home or causing property prices to fall.

There also appears to be an increased commitment from serious sellers with a lower number of properties withdrawing from the market in April and a higher number of sellers reducing their asking price to entice buyers. However, it must be noted that an increase in the number of properties reducing their asking price also shows that some sellers are perhaps being too optimistic with their initial asking prices.

Whilst there is positive sentiment in the market, sellers must remember that buyers have more choice, and lower budgets, which means if you do not price competitively they will shop elsewhere. Rightmove have reported that reduced properties are 20% less likely to sell versus those that price correctly from the outset and those that end up selling will take 2.5x as long to do so.  This is also evidenced by the number of sales falling through being higher than in recent years, which means if things are not quite right a buyer will walk away from a transaction knowing there are other options for them to buy. In conclusion, we appear to be in a pretty stable and normal property market if there is such a thing, where both buyers and sellers are making the decision to make a move if the price and conditions are right. This is not such a bad thing following the ups and downs of the property market between 2020 and 2023. Perhaps a prolonged period of stability in the market will give potential homemovers the confidence to enter the market. If you would like to discuss the market in more detail, please do feel free to contact me and I will be very happy to help. 

Thank you for reading.