In the course of one month, agreed UK house sales jumped by 15% from last year. Distractions from the general election and Euro 2024 still occur but many buyers are hopeful interest rates will be cut, which will only strengthen the market.

The number of house sales agreed in the UK has just risen by 15% compared to the same time last year, according to the major property website Rightmove. Buyer sentiment seems to lean on the hope of a possible cut in the base rate, as they look forward to it happening from as early as August.

Brexit voices in the country are taking a setback even after general election distractions and, further, coming Euro 2024 football tournament as the reflection of buying ambitions of people carries on in their heads. “Rightmove said the average price of properties coming to the market had fallen by 0.4% – a decrease of £1,617 with this average price now standing at £373,493”, but fell 2% in the south-east of England.

“Tim Bannister, spokesperson at Rightmove, said: The number of sales agreed is now 15% higher than a year earlier, and this is good news with a healthy outlook for the property sector that is rife with a mortgage rate that has grown high from last year. Sales should continue to rise by autumn.”.

Many people who want to move are already holding off to see the cut in an interest rate. The Bank of England interest rate stands at 5.25%. Last week the Bank of England’s chief economist, Huw Pill said that the inflation was still high. It could also mean that interest rates might not be cut as soon as hoped. However some big lenders like Halifax and Barclays have already lowered the rates on their respective mortgages, which suggests they believe rate cuts may occur soon.

Halifax, the largest mortgage lender in Britain, slashed rates by as much as 0.13%, while Barclays cut by as much as 0.33%. In fact, Barclays now has a product where the five-year fixed rate mortgage stands at 4.08%—which is the smallest amount in the market. While there have been other banks, too, such as NatWest and HSBC cutting rates quite recently, all this announces a kind of rate war that is being taken up, and it is actually good news for the borrowers.

Anderson Harris brokerage managing director Adrian Anderson said: “Cheaper mortgage rates will make it easier for people to borrow money and buy houses.” He went on to predict: “Indeed, some five year fixed-rate mortgages may even be priced below 4% by the end of the year.”.

The typical five-year fixed-rate mortgage is now 4.97%, well down on the peak of 6.11% lodged in July 2023 but much higher compared to the average of 2.51% that buyers received in July 2021.

Bannister from Rightmove commented that following interest rates cuts could be the talisman to reanimate the housing markets. He said “A first base rate cut [by the Bank of England] for over four years, together with the new political certainty could set the scene for a positive autumn market, with improved affordability and a more confident outlook hopefully settling in by the second half of the year.”

In summary, the UK housing market is inching towards the positive territory with agreed sales up 15%, when compared to the same month last year. Buyers holding out saw further cuts in interest rates to kick-start the market otion. The market remains very busy, despite distractions from the General Election and Euro 2024, and the future with those lower mortgage rates is yet more positive to the buyer.