The number of potential future buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale is 6% higher than last year, according to the latest figures released by Rightmove, with sales agreed 5% up over the same period.
Realistic and competitive pricing from new sellers in response to the high-competition market is driving an increase in buyer activity, the property website says, leading to the number of sales agreed being the highest at this time of year since 2021.
The House Price Index also shows an improvement in affordability, with the average new seller asking price for a home in Great Britain now just 0.1% higher than a year ago and average earnings up by over 5%. With the average two-year fixed mortgage rate now 4.53%, compared to 5.34% a year ago, this equates to a saving of almost £150 per month on a new mortgage over 30 years with a 20% deposit.
‘It’s been a promising first half of the year for activity levels, particularly when you consider that some will have brought their plans forward to try to avoid added stamp duty from April’, said Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“Even after the stamp duty deadline, we’re seeing more sales being agreed and more new potential buyers entering the market than at the same time last year. Still, the knock-on effect of high buyer choice is slower price growth, so we’re revising down our prediction of how much the asking price of a home will increase over the whole of the year.
“Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, there will still very likely be the usual quieter seasonal periods around the summer holidays and Christmas, but we expect market activity to continue to be resilient. Crucially, buyer affordability is heading in the right direction, and another two Bank Rate cuts before 2026 would be a big boost to this.”
The message was echoed by Propertymark CEO Nathan Emerson, who commented in response to Rightmove’s figures:
“The housing market is witnessing a steady return to normality following Stamp Duty threshold changes for those living in England and Northern Ireland at the start of April. As we enter the summer months, when the housing market tends to achieve a peak in sales in activity, it is good to see yet further resilience in house prices year on year.”
The average cost of property coming to market fell by 1.2% this month, to £373,709. ‘While there’s usually a seasonal dip in prices in July, this is the largest monthly price drop at this time of year recorded by Rightmove over more than 20 years of data’, the company said.
However, the picture varies across the UK, with a 1.5% drop in London and a 1.2% increase in the North East.
Rightmove is now expecting the average asking price for a home to rise by 2% rather than the original forecast of 4% over the whole of 2025.
The company added:
“We do expect the annual rate of growth to increase from its current 0.1%, as the level of buyer activity is encouraging, but the decade-high supply of homes on the market is limiting that growth. Rightmove is also retaining its forecast of 1.15 million transactions in 2025.
“The overall market outlook remains positive for the second half of the year, and if the two currently forecast Bank Rate cuts go ahead as expected this would further stimulate buyer affordability.”
