UK property asking prices up 1.3% on year, Rightmove says

By David Milliken

LONDON (Reuters) - Asking prices for housing on sale in Britain this month are 1.3% higher than a year earlier, despite the end of a tax break, pushing the average price above a previous record set in May 2024, property website Rightmove said on Monday.

The average price for houses and apartments advertised between March 9 and April 5 was a record 377,182 pounds ($494,448), reflecting a 1.4% increase from the previous month - a bigger-than-usual rise for the time of year, Rightmove said.

"Increased choice seems to be bringing more movers into the market, with both buyer and seller numbers up as the market remains resilient," Rightmove executive Colleen Babcock said.

The upbeat tone contrasts with March data from mortgage lender Halifax last week which showed a 0.5% drop in house prices on the month and Bank of England data which showed a six-month low in mortgage approvals ahead of the tax changes.

Buyers had been rushing to complete purchases before the end of March to benefit from temporarily reduced purchase taxes.

Rightmove said the number of agreed sales had fallen since the deadline, but that compared with a year ago the number of new potential buyers was still up 5% while the number of homes for sale had risen by 4%.

The impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies was not yet clear, but could boost the market if it led the BoE to cut interest rates faster, Rightmove added.

Financial markets on Friday saw around three quarter-point rate cuts this year compared with two before the tariff announcements.

Typical mortgage rates have fallen only slightly over the past year as the BoE has stuck to a gradual approach since starting to cut rates in August 2024.

The average interest rate on a mortgage with a five-year fixed rate has declined to 4.72% from 4.84% over the past 12 months, Rightmove said.

($1 = 0.7628 pounds)

(Reporting by David Milliken; editing by Suban Abdulla)