The median price of properties coming on the market for sale has risen by £3,300 to £362,438 this January after two months of declines.
The 0.9% rise in sales prices is the biggest increase for this time of year since 2020, according to real estate site Rightmove.
However, average sales prices are still £8,720 lower than their peak in October.
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“The seasonal increase in asking prices for new sellers this January from December is particularly encouraging to those seeking the reassurance of familiar trends and a calmer, more measured market after the rapidly changing and sometimes chaotic economic climate of the final months of last year,” Tim Bannister, director of property science for Rightmove.
The number of potential buyers contacting agents increased 4% compared to the same period in 2019 and 55% compared to the two weeks leading up to Christmas, the biggest New Year’s rebound since 2016 after the extended break from end of the year.
“Early-bird sellers who are already in the market and have priced correctly are likely to reap the benefits of the rebound in buyer activity, while overpriced sellers may find themselves trapped as property inventory increases in the coming weeks. and months. and they experience more competition from other sellers with better prices in their area,” Bannister added.
However, buyer demand is down 36% compared to last year’s busier start to the year as the market navigates its return to a more normal level of activity.
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“It will be important for the vast majority of sellers to remember that a drop in their asking price is probably not a real loss compared to what you paid for it, just a failure to meet expectations. Listening to your real estate agent’s advice about your hyperlocal market and getting the price right the first time can avoid a stalled sale and the need for even bigger reductions later on,” Bannister said.
More than 1.4 million UK households face the prospect of interest rate hikes when they renew their fixed-rate mortgages in 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has warned.
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