UK Housing Market Remains Stable & Active
Despite higher mortgage rates and weaker consumer confidence linked to recent geopolitical tensions, the key “flow” indicator here—time to sell – has barely changed overall. On average, homes are only taking about one extra day to sell compared with a year ago. In housing terms, that is essentially flat performance. It suggests that while sentiment has worsened, underlying demand is still strong enough to match supply at a similar pace.
Demand is holding up better than sentiment suggests
• Sales agreed are only 3% below last year, which is a very small decline in a higher-rate environment.
• Buyer enquiries are down just 2% year-on-year, but importantly they’ve rebounded since Easter.
• Enquiries are now at their highest level since the start of the conflict in late February, suggesting a recovery in confidence among active buyers.
Taken together, this indicates that while headlines and sentiment (rates, geopolitics, confidence surveys) have weakened, actual transactional intent has remained fairly stable—and is now improving.
The mention of a ceasefire and lower mortgage rates points to the key mechanism here: even modest rate reductions can quickly bring “paused” buyers back into the market, because affordability thresholds shift quite sharply with borrowing costs
🏡 Market Momentum: Quietly Resilient
• Only +1 day to sell vs last year
That’s basically flat. In a higher mortgage-rate environment, this is stronger than expected.
👉 This tells you:
• The market hasn’t stalled
• Motivated buyers and sellers are still transacting normally
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📊 Prices: Stable, Not Surging
• Average UK price: £271,500
• Annual growth: +1.3% (+£3,500)
👉 That’s:
• Below historic “boom” levels
• But clearly not declining
Reality check:
This is what a balanced market looks like—small, steady gains rather than volatility.
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📈 Demand: Rebounding After Easter
• Buyer demand has picked up again after the seasonal lull
👉 Important nuance:
• This rebound is typical seasonality + improving confidence
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⚖️ What this means for the housing market overall
• The market is absorbing higher mortgage rates without a collapse in activity
• Demand has dipped slightly but remains historically strong in flow terms
• Supply is moderately higher, but not surging
• Buyers are selective but still active, especially as borrowing costs ease
👉 In plain terms:
This is a “normalised” housing market—driven by real-life moves, not speculation or panic.
For a free home valuation or expert advice, contact our offices today – we’re here to help.