What’s the latest in the property market
Looking back on the last few months, the property market has experienced the usual seasonal trends, including modest housing price corrections. Due to the summer holidays, August showed typical lower levels of activity, but September has seen an increase in average asking price (+0.4%), albeit slightly under the 10-year average of 0.6%.* With property asking prices at an average of £366,281 across the UK, stable buyer demand and slight increases in buyer affordability (helped by interest rates being held for the first time since November 2021), and an increase of 12% in the number of new properties coming to market, the housing sector is looking resilient for buyers and sellers alike.
>>what’s happening at a regional level?
At a more local level, there is some variation between the regions on a monthly basis – eight out of 11 regions experienced month-on-month increases in asking prices.* The South West took the lead with a monthly change of +1.7%, reaching £390,688, whilst London saw no monthly change (0.0%).* Scotland experienced a slight decrease of -0.1% in asking price and the North East and East Midlands saw the largest monthly decrease in asking prices, with -0.8% and -0.7%, respectively.*
>> regional trends in asking prices across the UK:
| Region | Monthly change in asking price | Annual change in asking price | Average asking price |
| East of England | +0.1% | -1.5% | £419,506 |
| East Midlands | -0.7% | -1.6% | £283,550 |
| London | 0.0% | -1.4% | £673,167 |
| North East | -0.8% | +0.6% | £184,568 |
| North West | +0.1% | +0.3% | £254,009 |
| Scotland | -0.1% | +2.6% | £190,176 |
| South East | +0.1% | -1.6% | £482,070 |
| South West | +1.7% | -0.6% | £390,688 |
| Wales | +1.1% | +0.1% | £259,898 |
| West Midlands | +0.4% | -0.1% | £287,406 |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | +0.9% | +1.8% | £246,411 |
Scotland has once again outperformed the average with an annual growth rate of 13.3% reaching £977. While Welsh rents have seen a more modest monthly increase of 1.2%, bringing the average monthly rent to £852. Greater London's average rent has reached £2,179 a month, marking a 1.59% uptick since the previous month. Yorkshire and the Humber stand out with the highest monthly rent increase at 2.1% and Scotland with the lowest at -0.8%.**
>>UK rental market snapshot:
| Average UK rent | £1,276 pcm |
| Average UK rent, excluding London | £1,061 |
| Average month-on-month change in UK rent | +1.19% |
| Year-on-year growth in Scottish rent | +13.3% |
These developments are influenced by multiple factors, including escalating costs on borrowing and regulatory demands for landlords and fewer available rental properties. Given these ongoing challenges and the possibility that a large number of landlords may have not yet completed their rent reviews, it is highly probable that we will see rental rates continue to rise into 2024.
Want to find out how this may have affected your property’s value or how much you could let your property for? Find out today!
Correct at the time of publishing – 29/09/2023
Sources:
*https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/house-price-index/ ; https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/ [09]
**https://homelet.co.uk/homelet-rental-index [09]
MKT/CG/UKON/200923