UK house hunting activity has picked up again after a quieter summer, with the number of people searching for homes to buy rising 7% in the four weeks to 16 August, compared with the same period last year, according to Zoopla.
Zoopla is one of the UK’s largest property portals, a website where buyers, sellers and renters can browse listings and track market trends. The figures come from its analysis of search behaviour and pricing data across Britain.
Searches Up Across Every Region for the First Time in a Year
One of the clearest signs of a shift in UK house hunting activity is the breadth of the recovery. Zoopla found that the number of house hunters is now higher across every region in the UK for the first time in a year. The strongest levels of activity are coming from the east and southeast of England, and from Wales.
The increase points to early signs of growing demand among potential buyers, the company said. Even so, Zoopla was careful to note that it will take time for searches to translate into enquiries and completed sales. Browsing for a home and committing to buy one are very different steps, and affordability pressures remain a real barrier for many households.
On the supply side, the overall stock of properties available on the platform is up 5% on last year. Sellers have been continuing to list homes, but the number of properties being newly listed remains lower than last year, suggesting the pipeline of fresh supply is not growing as quickly as overall availability might imply.
Mortgage Rates Remain the Defining Pressure on Affordability
The backdrop to this cautious recovery is a mortgage market that has become considerably more expensive over the past year. Zoopla said average five-year fixed mortgage rates, a common choice for buyers wanting cost certainty over a longer term, have risen from below 4% in January to around 4.8%. Rates jumped higher earlier this year amid conflict in the Middle East, which affected financial markets in the UK, before edging back down since the spring.
Many buyers still face higher rates than they did at the start of the year. In practical terms, that means either borrowing less or putting down a larger deposit in order to keep monthly repayments at a manageable level. For first-time buyers or those stretching their budget, those are often difficult choices. The Bank of England‘s interest rate decisions continue to shape what lenders charge, and many buyers have been watching closely for any shift.
House prices across the UK grew by 0.9% in July, compared with the same month last year, reaching an average of £272,800, according to Zoopla’s house price index. That is a slower pace than the 1.3% year-on-year increase recorded in June, suggesting that price growth is cooling even as buyer interest begins to recover.
Richard Donnell: Buyers Were Watching, Not Walking Away
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: ‘Many buyers have taken a “wait and see” approach over the summer months in response to higher borrowing costs and political uncertainty.’
He pointed to mid-July, around the time of the World Cup final, as the low point for activity. Since then, he said, ‘we have seen a steady increase in the number of people searching for a home, assessing their options ahead of the post-holiday rebound in sales market activity.’
Donnell described the recovery as ‘a nationwide trend and the first time searches for homes are up across Britain this year,’ adding that despite some stabilisation, ‘average mortgage rates have stabilised but remain closer to 5% than 4%, meaning affordability remains an important factor for many home buyers choosing their next home.’
The UK government‘s housing and planning policies will also form part of the broader context buyers are weighing as they decide whether now is the right moment to move.
