UK house prices up by 1.5% in March 2024
First published on KensingtonHouse.com on 1 April 2024. Figures, forecasts and quotations reflect that date and have not been updated. Read it as a record of the market at the time, not as a current view.
For later official context: at its meeting ending 16 September 2026 the Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75%. Bank of England, September 2026
Strong buyer demand and brisk transaction volumes during March combined to push the average UK home’s asking price up by 1.5%, according to Rightmove. This was significantly higher than the historical March average of 1% and the biggest monthly increase for 10 months.
“Since lenders decided to slash rates, we’ve seen first-time buyers popping up like daffodils in spring”
Jake Stott, founder of broker Mondo Mortgages, said the Nationwide data “highlights the optimism that is emerging after a turbulent 2023”. He added: “Since lenders decided to slash rates right from the start of the month, we’ve seen first-time buyers popping up like daffodils in spring.”
Halifax’s data was also very optimistic, showing a 1.3% uplift between December and January, marking the fourth consecutive monthly rise. Kim Kinnaird, the director at Halifax Mortgages, said: “The recent reduction of mortgage rates from lenders as competition picks up, alongside fading inflationary pressures and a still-resilient labour market has contributed to increased confidence among buyers and sellers. This has resulted in a positive start to 2024’s housing market.”
These figures offer further indications that the UK property market is strengthening as mortgage rates ease – the latest expectation is that the Bank of England will start cutting interest rates in 2024 on the back of a series of promising inflation data. The consultancy Capital Economics now predicts that the base rate will fall as low as 3% by the end of 2025. Data released at the end of February by Zoopla showed both buyers and sellers returning to the property market in droves – all the platform’s metrics of activity were higher than in February 2023, with agreed sales up by 15% and buyer demand up by 11%.
Original publication: kensingtonhouse.com, 1 April 2024. The organisations quoted are named in the text; their figures are reported as they stood on the publication date.