The “better late than never” rate cut by the Bank of England serves to boost an already very busy property market, according to Home.co.uk's Asking Price Index for August.

A likely pro­longed period of falling mortgage rates will most certainly stimulate demand and come to the aid of the five English regions which have yet to recover their 2022 price highs, the property website found.  

Home price growth overall will remain moderate while high stock levels persist. However, considerable regional variation is apparent, and the already vibrant inflation-beating northern mar­kets (e.g. the North East) will potentially move into overdrive in the near term.

The East of England and Greater London still have considerable ground to make up before they return to their 2022 price highs. Home.co.uk expects recovery to remain slow despite the recent rate cut due to these areas' relatively poor rental yields.

Meanwhile, the northern, Scottish and Welsh markets have long since surpassed their 2022 highs and are indicating infla­tion-beating growth. Their prospects have just improved further thanks to the rate cut.

Overall, key market indicators con­firm that the UK property market is in good shape and looks set to prosper as borrowing costs steadily decline.

Typical Time on Market is slightly lower than in pre-pandemic August 2019 and annual­ised price growth is significantly better overall despite the poor performance of several regions, predominantly in the South and East.

A key driver of current growth is buy-to-let investment focused on the best yields available and this correlates with the more vigorous northern markets.

The mix-adjusted average asking price for England and Wales increased by just 0.2% during the last month and, although 1.2% above the August 2023 figure, it remains 0.6% below the all-time high of August 2022.

Headlines

• Asking prices rose by 0.2% during the last month across England and Wales (the seventh consecutive monthly rise) and are now up 1.2% compared to August 2023.
• Prices increased again in all English regions (except the North West and South East where they remain unchanged), Wales and Scotland last month. The mix-adjusted average jumped by 1.1% in Scotland and by 1.3% in the North East.
• The unsold sales stock count for England and Wales rose again over the last month to reach a 10-year high for August. Nearly 6,000 properties were added to agents' portfolios, taking the current total of unsold stock to 494,837.
• Despite this 10-year high, sales market momentum remains relatively healthy, as indicated by both the Typical Time on Market (median) for unsold property being four days less than in August 2019 and our Market Turnover Indicator. However, the current median time on market for unsold property is nine days more than in August last year.
• The total number of new instructions entering the market during July 2024 was 4% more than during July 2023.
• The North East extends its lead as the regional property market growth leader with a stunning year-on-year gain of 6.5% while the South West is now the worst performing region, indicating a loss of -0.3% over the same period.
• The annualised national growth figure for asking rents has slowed further to just 1.1%, dragged down by London's poor performance. However, Wales continues to lead the regional growth table, followed by the South West, with rises of 14.5% and 11.7% respectively year-on-year. Meanwhile, the year-on-year decline in Greater London rents is now -1.2%.
• The boroughs of Bexley and Haringey indicate the worst declines in asking rents with annualised rental falls of 16.6% and 9.4% respectively.

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