Buyers return to property market after interest rate cut

A becalmed housing market is heading for a livelier autumn after the number of prospective buyers contacting estate agents rose by almost a fifth in the space of a month.
Rightmove has increased its forecast for annual changes to asking prices from -1 per cent to a positive 1 per cent after reporting a pick-up in buyer interest since the Bank of England announced its first interest rate cut in four years.
According to the online property platform, the number of potential buyers is up by 19 per cent compared with August 2023, when buyer sentiment was at its nadir under pressure from high inflation and high borrowing costs. The August increase is an acceleration on the July growth figure of 11 per cent.
New sellers coming to market are up by a more modest 5 per cent, suggesting that a relative shortage of available homes to buy will push up prices. The number of agreed sales was 16 per cent higher than in August last year.
“The first base rate since 2020 has sparked a welcome late summer boost in buyer activity,” Tim Bannister, a director at Rightmove, said. “While mortgage rates aren’t yet substantially lower since the rate cut, the fact that the long-hoped-for first cut has finally arrived and mortgage rates are heading downwards is positive for home-mover sentiment.”
There was now “a degree of buyer buzz around the market” that had been missing a year ago, he said. “We expect small price rises in the autumn, followed by the usual seasonal monthly falls in prices at the end of the year.”
Rightmove’s findings chime with recent data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and comments from Persimmon and Bellway, the housebuilders, that the residential property market is picking up after an 18-month downturn. The average new five-year fixed mortgage is now priced at 4.8 per cent, down from 5.82 per cent a year ago. However, borrowing costs are still much higher than they were before the Bank started raising rates in December 2021.
The Bank cut its base rate from 5.25 per cent to 5 per cent on August 1 and more rate cuts are forecast in the coming months, as long as inflation remains under control.
Bannister said the scene was set for a positive second half, although there were still some uncertainties ahead, including the government’s first budget in October, the timing of any second base rate cut and the path of the American economy, which has an impact on overall interest rate sentiment.
The average asking price in August has dropped by 1.5 per cent compared with July and is now £367,785. However, lulls in August are the norm as people prioritise holidays over home moves. New seller asking prices had fallen every August for 18 years, Rightmove said.