Sales agreed up 12% on last year despite annual mortgage costs 61% higher than 2021

  • UK house prices broadly static but sales volumes are up 12% year on year

  • UK house price inflation unchanged from last month at -0.2%

  • Almost two thirds (64%) of all homes are in local markets with annual price falls, down from 82% last October with a clear north-south divide emerging.

  • Higher mortgage rates continue to impact buying power and drag on price growth

  • Annual mortgage repayments for a typical home buyer are 61% higher than 3 years ago – two thirds is down to higher mortgage rates and one third due to higher house prices

  • Higher mortgage rates and other buying costs like stamp duty are behind ongoing price falls across southern England

  • The market is on track for 1.1m sales in 2024, up 10% on last year

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00.01 MONDAY 29TH APRIL, LONDON: More homes for sale and renewed confidence amongst buyers continues to support the number of sales being agreed which are 12% higher compared to this time last year1, reveals property website Zoopla.

The latest monthly House Price Index also shows that UK house price growth remains broadly flat (-0.2%) contributing to a more balanced market, meaning more people have the chance of moving home in 2024. Zoopla expects 100,000 more sales this year than in 2023 (1.1m in 2024 versus 1m in 2023) so long as sellers continue to remain realistic on pricing.

Mortgages repayments are still 61% higher impacting buying power

This positive increase in sales is beginning to reflect in other data such as mortgage approvals for home purchase which were 32%2 higher in February 2024 compared to the previous year, marking a return to pre-pandemic levels.

However, despite improving consumer confidence mortgage rates remain around 4.5% compared to sub 2% in March 2021. Higher mortgage rates are adding to affordability pressures for buyers and this is acting as a drag on house price inflation.

The average home buyer using a 70% loan to value mortgage faced annual mortgage repayments that are 61% higher today3 than three years ago (March 2021) before mortgage rates started to rise  – in monetary terms the annual mortgage repayments have risen from £7,100 to £11,400.

Two thirds of this increase is driven by higher mortgage rates, but a third is down to the fact that house prices are 13% higher than 3 years ago. (March 2021).

But higher mortgage rates hit southern England hardest

At a regional and country level there has been a 50% to 70% increase in mortgage repayments for a typical buyer between 2021 and 2024 with the largest monetary impact felt in southern England where house prices are simply higher.

The annual cost of mortgage repayments for an average priced home is more than £5,000 a year higher in 2024 than 2021 across the South West, South East and East of England.

This rises to a high of an extra £7,500 in London. Across other regions and countries of the UK, the increase is lower, ranging between £2,350 and £3,900 a year.

While underlying household incomes will vary by area, lower mortgage increases are one reason that market activity and prices are holding up better in more affordable markets with lower house prices.

  

6 in 10 homes in markets registering annual price falls

The squeeze on housing affordability from higher mortgage rates, lower income growth and rising living costs is keeping house prices in check across southern England. Analysis of Zoopla’s granular local authority house price indices reveals that 64% of all homes are in markets still registering annual price falls4. This is lower than the 82% recorded last October with the scale of these price falls being relatively modest – in most cases between 0% and -3%.

The coverage of homes in markets with price falls is greatest across southern England where 95-100% of homes are now in local markets with annual price falls. The East Midlands also has a high proportion of markets with price falls at 93%.

Across the rest of Great Britain there are signs of improvement in pricing, with a decline in the proportion of homes in local markets with annual price falls across six regions.  Scotland has pockets of lower prices but at a national level, prices haven’t fallen year on year. As the UK’s most affordable region with an average price of £142,000, the North East now has no areas with annual price falls.

Commenting on the latest report, Richard Donnell, Executive Director at Zoopla says: “The rebound in sales being agreed continues for a fourth month as mortgage rates have fallen, consumer confidence improves and home buyers have much greater choice of homes for sale.  The pipeline of sales is growing and we expect 100,000 more people to move home in 2024 than last year.

There is clear evidence that house prices are firming and the pace of price falls is slowing. We don’t believe that prices will start to rise as buyers face much higher mortgage repayments than in the recent past. The market is adjusting to higher borrowing costs and what we need is continued price stability which will create the environment for continued growth in sales and home moves. It’s important sellers remain realistic on what they can achieve for their home. ”

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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