Research indicates that Britain’s supply of homes for sale has reached its highest point in eight years. Experts suggest the trend will limit house price rises for the rest of 2024.
Zoopla, the property website, reports that the average estate agent is currently listing 31 homes for sale. This marks a 20% increase compared to the same period last year and the highest number since 2016.
This statistic translates to approximately £230 billion worth of homes on offer. Such figures show sellers increasingly return to the housing market.
Zoopla notes that many existing homeowners postponed their moving decisions in the latter half of last year due to the impact of higher borrowing costs on house prices and buyer demand, which eroded confidence.
Additionally, just under one-third of homes listed for sale in 2023 failed to find buyers. However, an anticipated decrease in mortgage rates, coupled with rising sales volumes over the past six months, has bolstered sentiment.
Experts anticipate that the Bank of England will likely reduce interest rates in the coming months. This follows a decrease in headline inflation to 2.3% in the 12 months leading up to April 2024.
The number of house sales agreed has increased by 13% since this time last year. This still trails behind the level of supply, giving buyers a broader selection in the market.
This trend is projected to restrain house price inflation. According to Zoopla’s latest index, yearly house price inflation stands at minus 0.1%, indicating a decline in prices over the past year.
There has been an uptick in house price inflation over the last quarter, rising by 0.4% due to increased sales. Yet quarterly growth rate has slowed. Zoopla anticipates inflation to remain stagnant for the year.
Richard Donnell is executive director at Zoopla. He commented, “the growth in the supply of homes for sale is evidence of renewed confidence among homeowners”.
“The quarterly rate of house price inflation has picked up in recent months as more sales are agreed and prices firm.