Buyer Confidence Improves in UK Property Market as Sales Increase

According to the latest data from UK property website Zoopla, buyer confidence within the UK property market is improving with properties under offer increasing by 12% on the previous year and mortgage approvals increasing by 32% year-on-year.

Under offer properties increase by 12% year-on-year

The number of properties under offer in the UK property market has risen by 12% compared to the previous year according to the latest data from UK property website Zoopla with buyer confidence in the market continuing to increase as mortgage approvals rise by 32% compared to the previous year.

The UK property market has now been declared “more balanced” than it was prior to the pandemic, meaning more people are accessing the market and more sales transactions are going through in 2024.

Renewed buyer confidence in the market has meant more sales are being agreed, with sales up by 12% year-on-year, more homes are coming to market for sale, and the number of homes going under offer throughout the first four months of 2024 reaching higher than the same period in 2023.

“The housing sales pipeline is now rebuilding after a period of lower sales, when mortgage rates spiked higher in 2022 and 2023. Our data shows that the housing market remains on track for 1.1m sales completions in 2024, up 10% on 2023.”
Richard Donnell, Executive Director of Research at Zoopla.

House prices in the South fall while increasing in the North

The average UK house price is currently holding steady according to Zoopla, with annual house price inflation largely unchanged on the previous month, however, house prices are continuing to fall in the southern regions of England, with East Midlands, East of England, London, South East, and South West all falling by -0.2%, -1.7%, -0.7%, -1.6%, and -1.4% respectively.

Comparatively, the northern regions of England have all seen price increases, with Yorkshire and Humber, North West, and North East all seeing increases of +0.8%, +1.1%, and +1.3% respectively.

95-100% of homes in the south are decreasing in value

With mortgage rates remaining higher than the ‘normal’ levels last seen prior to Kwarteng’s Budget in 2022, buyers are continuing to be priced out of London and the previously high prices of the south are falling as sellers set lower asking prices to attract a buyer.

According to Zoopla’s data, 95-100% of homes in southern England are “in markets where prices are currently falling”.

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