Struggling house prices return to the market in March

New research shows that the average price of a property coming on to the market increased by 2,906 in March, as stability and confidence returned to the housing sector after the chaos unleashed by the mini-budget.

According to Rightmove, the average price of the properties listed rose by 0.8 per cent this month, due to a 1.2 per cent rise in the price of the most expensive homes.

House prices went up by almost a fifth over the course of the epidemic, as buyers tried to move to properties with gardens and more space to work from home.

Inflation went to its highest level in decades, and rising interest rates pushed up costs for homeowners, and the growth in house prices peaked last summer, and the price of the average home fell in recent months.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science, said the housing market reached an unsustainable level in the past two years and was on track to slow down to a more normal level, but the slowdown was accelerated by the Truss-Kwarteng mini-budget in September.

He said that stability and confidence could be returned to the market as it recovers from the turbulence at the end of 2022 in the beginning of the spring season. Many potential home-movers who were effectively sidelined in the frenetic bidding wars of the last two years will find that a slower-paced market gives them time to plan and secure their next move as we enter the traditionally busy spring buying season, despite higher mortgage rates and economic headwinds raising challenges.

Mortgage rates fell back from the peak last year, with the average rate for a 15 per cent deposit, five-year fixed mortgage now at 4.65 per cent, down from 4.75 per cent last month and a high of 5.89 per cent in October. Rates remain elevated compared with the 2.48 per cent average recorded in March 2022, which is compared to the 2.48 per cent average in March 2022.

The Office for Budget Responsibility predicted a double-digit drop in house prices last week, as the market went through a correction after it hit a pandemic highs.

The asking prices of new sellers are now 5,800 below their October peak last year, according to Rightmove. The growth in the price of houses listed has fallen, with a rate of 3 per cent this month.

The property seen as typical for first-time buyers, usually those with one or two bedrooms, are leading the cautious recovery, according to the estate agent, which found that sales in this sector have improved at the fastest rate. Agreed sales fell 4 per cent compared to the same period in March 2019 before the pandemic.

Bannister said that lagging sales agreed in the larger homes sectors are likely to be caused by a combination of factors including fewer pandemic-driven moves to bigger homes, a more cautious approach to trading up due to the cost of living and even concerns over the running costs of a larger home. He said that sales in the first-time buyer sector are probably being helped by families giving buyers money to help with their deposits.