Record number of home valuation requests in January

Love or Hate Rightmove

·         A record number of future sellers contacted an estate agent to get their home valued in January 

·         The number of people requesting a home valuation by an estate agent was 23% higher in January than the previous record of January 2023, and 27% higher than third place July 2020 

·         It’s been a tentatively promising start to the year. After the first month of 2024, the number of new properties coming onto the market for sale is 13% higher than last year, while buyer demand over the same period is 7% higher 

·         Homeowners and future first-time buyers can get an instant online estimate of what a home may be worth on Rightmove, to help them to decide the right time to move 

 

New data from the UK’s biggest property website Rightmove reveals that a record number of future sellers sent a request to an estate agent to come and value their home in January. 

 

The number of people sending a request to an estate agent to value their home was 23% higher in January 2024 than the previous record of January 2023.  

 

January’s figure was also 27% higher than the third highest month on record for valuation requests in July 2020, when the housing market had reopened during the pandemic.  

 

One of the factors contributing to confidence amongst many sellers and buyers to get their 2024 moving is the more stable mortgage market, which has remained calm at the beginning of the year. 

 

Average mortgage rates have continued to slowly trend downwards, and the average five-year mortgage rate is now 4.64%, compared to the peak of 6.11% in July 2023. 

 

After the first month of the year, the number of new properties coming to the market for sale is 13% higher than last year, while the number of future buyers sending enquiries to estate agents is 7% higher.  

 

Those who are considering a move in 2024 but have not yet taken action can use Rightmove’s tools and resources to help them to decide the right time to move. 

 

Homeowners and future first-time buyers can use Rightmove’s instant valuation tool to get an online estimate of what a home may be worth, and an early indication of what their budget may be. Homeowners can then get a full expert valuation of their home by an estate agent when the time comes to sell. 

 

Rightmove’s property expert Tim Bannister said: “The early data suggests estate agents have had a busy start to 2024, with more market activity than at the start of last year. This activity we’re seeing is likely to be a combination of those movers who have recently decided to make 2024 their year for a new home, and some pent-up demand from those who took a step back last year to consider their options while the outlook for mortgage rates was more unclear. It’s early days but the first month of data is encouraging.” 

Rightmove

UK Property news updates shared directly from Rightmove PLC - the country's leading property portal.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

UK monthly property transactions for May 2025

Headline statistics from the latest transactions data include: the provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in May 2025 is 81,470, 12% lower than May 2024 and 25% higher than April 2025 the provisional non-seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in May 2025 is 80,530, 13% lower than May 2024 and…
Read More
Breaking News

Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) shows the Government has a plan

The Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) held its first board meeting today (26 June 2025), where it set out a roadmap for recruiting 100,000 more construction workers a year by the end of Parliament. Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “The Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) is a recognition…
Read More
Paint Stripper Tools
Estate Agent Talk

5 Strategies to Optimise Your Warehouse for Real Estate

The term fixer-upper can mean many things, from ‘slap some paint on the walls and it looks brand new’ to ‘will this building collapse if we open the front door?’ Indeed, in the dicey world of commercial property acquisition, each warehouse you buy will probably fall into both camps. Thinking about the viability of warehouses…
Read More
Breaking News

HMOs sell for up to 50% above market average

New research from Excellion Capital, the boutique debt advisory and investment firm, reveals that HMOs sell for as much as 50% above the average house price, further increasing their investment potential after it was revealed that HMOs also create rental yields of up to 12.5%. After previous research from Excellion Capital recently showed that the…
Read More
Breaking News

UK buyers struggle while 50,000 homes sit empty

As the UK housing crisis deepens, new analysis by Open Property Group exposes a worrying surge in so-called “zombie homes”- properties that sit unoccupied and deteriorating while millions struggle to access affordable housing. Key insights: 50,000+ long-term vacant homes in England alone 23,000+ of these have been empty for more than two years Estimated £13.6…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 26/06/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   The UK is Europe’s second most distressed market despite headline GDP growth Retail and Consumers Goods has emerged as the most distressed sector in Europe, with distress levels now the highest since the global financial crisis, according to the latest Weil European Distress Index (WEDI). The…
Read More