Brian Murphy, Head of Lending for Mortgage Advice Bureau comments:
“The monthly Rightmove House Price Index provides us with an up to date insight into consumer sentiment and activity in terms of the UK property market, as gathered from estate agents, rather than historical data using completed transaction figures.
So far, September 2018 appears to be in line with normal trading conditions for the time of year. The Rightmove data suggests a modest upwards movement in the average asking price, but the advice that many agents have given their vendors over the past few months with regards pricing realistically in order to secure a buyer appears to have been heeded, with only a slight increase on an annualised basis. This feels pretty reasonable against the context of the ongoing low levels of homes available for sale, particularly in areas of high confidence such as the East and West Midlands, Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber.
Renewed activity in London may possibly be a sign of First Time Buyers and Second Steppers taking advantage of price drops over the summer, coupled with the still-competitive rates available from lenders. Likewise, at the upper end of the market, it seems that where significant reductions from motivated vendors have occurred, there are buyers out there willing to transact, meaning that deals are out there to be done. However, it’s important to make the distinction between an increase in activity and an increase in house prices – whilst the Rightmove data points to the first green shoots of the former in the capital, there aren’t many signs of the latter as yet.”