July Property Market 2024

House Price Inflation Throughout England

Average house prices across the UK have increased by 0.1% over the last 12 months, increasing to £265,600. In England, the biggest increase in price in the past year was seen in homes across the North West with a rise of 1.5%. The North East also saw a rise in property prices of 1.4%, along with the West Midlands with prices growing 0.5%. 

House prices are expected to continue increasing slowly over the rest of the year. This means the UK annual rate of house price inflation will rise by over 2% by the end of 2024. Property prices in the North are on average lower than the rest of the UK, meaning there is less of an impact from higher mortgage interest rates, helping support demand and house price growth.

Moderate price rises help encourage sellers to put their homes up for sale, but a resurgence of quick house price inflation would be undesirable. As affordability remains a large constraint on market activity, particularly in the South. The housing market requires a year or 2 long period where incomes rise faster than house prices to help reset affordability. 

Sales Agreed Are Up 16% Year-on-Year

A larger number of homes for sale and a rise in buyers has resulted in a 16% increase in the number of sales agreed since last year. An analysis of sales shows how they have been stronger in the first half of 2024 compared to 2023. Overall, sales are up across the whole of the UK. 

This reveals there is a more balanced property market, offering an increase in sales volume but with greater stability in price inflation. Furthermore, buyers are now paying 96.8% of the asking price, which is up from a recorded 95.6% near the end of 2023. The impact of higher mortgage rates was less striking across the north of the UK, which explains why the proportion of the asking price paid has stabilised. In terms of money, this averages at £16,600 below the asking price for sales in June 2024, compared to £23,000 below the asking price in late 2023.