MARKET
Looking ahead to the future
Will more homes on the market mean good news for first time buyers or will global uncertainty scupper purchases? Ginetta Vedrickas investigates
The website found that, while the market remains active, it is increasingly being driven by a smaller group of committed buyers as some households start to delay moving decisions.This is creating a growing gap between weaker buyer demand and more stable levels of sales agreed. Zoopla’s data shows that buyer demand has been running below last year’s levels across the first three months of the year. Demand weakened further during March, reflecting the impact of events in the Middle East, with buyer enquiries 13% lower than a year ago as potential buyers adopt a more cautious “wait and see” approach. Average mortgage rates have increased by 0.4 percentage points in the last month, with many sub-4% deals being withdrawn as financial markets, and buyers, adjust to uncertainty over the inflation outlook. It’s not all bad news, says the website, as sales agreed are proving more resilient than demand, registering a decrease of just 2% year-on- year.This reflects the continued presence of “committed movers” – buyers with mortgage offers agreed and/or a clear need to move, who are continuing to support the number of sales agreed. MORTGAGE RATES FLUCTUATING Earlier this year, average mortgage rates for new loans were at their lowest level for
last year’s prices – a rise of 1.8% – but there are hot spots bucking the trend. Northern Ireland has seen the fastest rate of price growth at 8% and, across the UK, the North West is the strongest performing region, with prices up 3.3% year-on-year, followed by Scotland at 2.8%, and the North East, 2.5%. By contrast, average prices in London are 0.2% lower than a year ago. Zoopla found that the areas with higher price growth are generally more affordable and have fewer homes for sale than a year ago, which the website points out “limits buyer choice”. Across the rest of the country, price growth is the same or weaker than a year ago. Southern England remains the softest market, with average prices broadly unchanged over the last 12 months.
Earlier this year, Zoopla found that there were the highest number of homes listed for sale for a decade, signalling good news for first time buyers according to the property website. Its House Price Index found that there are 6% more homes for sale than a year ago, something Zoopla predicts will rise further over the next few months and, as well as increasing choice for buyers, the website believes that it could help keep price increases in check for the rest of the year. The Index showed that house prices have increased by 1.3% in the past year generally, with house prices higher than a year ago in northern England and Scotland but, more optimistically, 40% of UK homes are now cheaper to buy than rent. Improving mortgage rates and easing lending criteria were pinpointed as making homes easier to buy, although the crisis in the Middle East has since affected mortgage rates.
STEADY LEVELS OF SALES ACTIVITY
HOUSE PRICE GROWTH IN CHECK
The UK housing market is seeing steady levels of sales activity despite rising uncertainty linked to events in the Middle East, according to Zoopla, as tensions push up mortgage rates and reduce buyer demand.
Despite the increase in market activity, house price growth remains subdued compared to
116 First Time Buyer June/July 2026
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