Spring is on the way and the housing market is beginning to grow

House Prices

Rightmove recently reported that the average price of newly marketed properties in the UK increased by 1.5% month-on-month, now standing at £368,118, the biggest increase in 10 months.

The firm’s house price index (HPI) also revealed that while average asking prices are still £4,776 below the peak in May 2023, more people are seeing a "window of opportunity to buy".

The number of sales being agreed increased by 13% year-on-year, with buyer demand also jumping by 8% in the same period, led by the less mortgage-rate-sensitive larger homes sector and London.

Nationwide Building Society have recently reported that UK house prices rose 0.7% month on month in February and Halifax reported a 1.7% increase over the last 12 months. These figures both see the Annual rate of change returning to positive territory for first time since January 2023.

Mortgage Interest Rates

With annual inflation falling in February to 3.4% from 4.0% in January, there are hopes that interest rates will reverse their recent move upwards.

According to the latest data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the annual rate of consumer prices index (CPI) inflation was the lowest since September 2021, when it was 3.1%.

The Bank of England has just left the base rate at 5.25%, but the news of inflation falling even closer to The Bank’s 2.00% target, may well lead to lower money market rates, which would filter through to lower mortgage interest rates.