Property asking costs flat in June says Rightmove

Property asking prices fell from their record high this month – but only by £21, according to Rightmove.

It means the average property on the market is now on sale for £375,110, though they typically sell for less with the average property sale price sitting at just under £289,000 according to the latest data from Halifax.

Compared to June last year, asking prices went up by 0.6 per cent or £2,251, according to Rightmove.

Not much change: Average asking prices hardly moved in June, while most buyers and sellers said they were unconcerned about the impact of the upcoming general election 

Some areas saw prices grow more, though, particularly in less expensive regions in the North of England. 

Five of the six cheapest areas reached new price records, including the North East where prices rose by 1 per cent over the month, the North West where they rose 0.9 per cent and the East Midlands where they rose 0.7 per cent.

Yorkshire and the Humber saw the highest year-on-year growth at 2.8 per cent, though prices stayed flat on a monthly basis.

By contrast, the higher-priced East of England and London regions were the only ones to see monthly price falls, at 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively. 

What has happened to your house price could also depend on its size.  

‘Top of the ladder’ properties, comprising five-beds and detached four-beds, saw a 0.6 per cent price fall over the past month, and the smallest annual increase at 0.1 per cent, Rightmove said. 

Marginal move: Asking prices edged up by just £21 compared to the May figure

Budget-busting: Larger homes saw the biggest asking price falls this month, perhaps because the amount many buyers can spend on a property is being limited by higher mortgage rates

The average home in this category now costs £689,810, with the monthly fall attributed in part to higher mortgage rates which are limiting some buyers’ budgets.

Second stepper homes, comprising three and four beds, now cost £343,947 on average having risen 0.2 per cent in the last month and 0.4 per cent on the year.

First-time buyer properties, which Rightmove classes as two-beds and below, saw fell 0.1 per cent on the month to an average of £227,757 though prices increased the most over the year at 0.6 per cent.

Buyers keep calm and carry on amid election

The property portal said the imminent general election had not had a significant effect on the property market, other than perhaps a small decline in the number of higher-priced homes being listed for sale.

In the two weeks since the surprise election announcement, the number of top-end sellers coming to market was 3 per cent lower than a year ago, versus being 11 per cent higher in the previous two-week period, Rightmove said.

However, buyer demand has remained stable and is now 5 per cent higher than in June last year.

In a Rightmove poll of more than 14,000 people, the vast majority (95 per cent) of those planning to move home said that the election would not affect their plans.

Tim Bannister Rightmove’s director of property science, said: ‘The vast majority of respondents say they will carry on with their home-moving plans. 

‘However, some potential sellers appear to be watching and waiting rather than taking action, evidenced by a dip in the number of new sellers coming to market, particularly at the top-end. 

‘This is understandable when many of these sellers have more flexibility over when they act, but overall, it appears to be business as usual for the mass-market.’

Ian Preston, group CEO at Preston Baker estate agents in Leeds, added: ‘The Government’s decision to call a general election hasn’t made an appreciable difference to market conditions. 

‘We saw a small dip last week in listing numbers, but this is easily explained as the traditional dip that we would normally see in the half term week, when more families choose to go away.’

Not so grim: Locations in the North of England saw more significant asking price growth

Renting now cheaper than buying with a 5% deposit… in the south

For years, renting has been more expensive on average than buying a similar-sized home and paying a mortgage. 

However, mortgage rate rises mean that is no longer the case for many of those with the smallest deposits. 

According to research by the estate agent Hamptons, would-be buyers with a 5 per cent deposit face paying an average of £300 per month more in mortgage repayments than if they continued renting. 

Rent vs own: The latter may work out more expensive for southerners with the smallest deposits due to higher mortgage rates, estate agent Hamptons warns

Costs more: Rightmove found that many of those with 10% deposits may also find paying a mortgage more expensive than renting at the moment

That is based on an average mortgage rate of 6.1 per cent, which is the typical rate for a 5 per cent deposit mortgage according to Bank of England data. 

Hamptons said buying with a 5 per cent deposit doesn’t work financially in most places south of Birmingham. 

In London, servicing a mortgage would cost the average tenant an extra £775 per month, which equates to £9,300 a year. 

Across Scotland and the three northern regions of England (North West, North East and Yorkshire & Humber) the monthly cost difference between renting and buying with a 5 per cent deposit is below £100 per month. 

In the Midlands there’s a higher difference of £117 to £122 per month, Hamptons said. 

Rightmove’s research showed a similar trend among those with 10 per cent deposits. 

To make the average monthly cost of renting and buying with a 5 per cent deposit similar, the typical mortgage rate would need to fall to 4.3 per cent. 

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: ‘Despite rental growth setting at around 6 per cent year-on-year, renting remains more cost-effective than buying for most households across the country. 

‘High mortgage rates have squeezed buyers with small deposits out of the market, forcing more households to rent for longer. The uplift in the monthly cost to buy a home with a small deposit has made purchases [more expensive] in most places south of Birmingham.’