LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) – Asking prices for British homes in May rose by more than usual for the time of year, despite uncertainty about the Iran war, and a key mortgage rate eased back, property website Rightmove said on Monday.
Property prices rose by a monthly 1.2%, above the 1.0% increase usually seen in May, Rightmove said. Prices rose by 0.8% in April from March.
“What’s notable this month is that activity in the market is staying fairly steady, even with ongoing cost-of-living pressures and wider global uncertainty,” Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said.
The Rightmove survey also showed:
• Asking prices were 0.3% lower than a year earlier
• The average two-year fixed mortgage interest rate fell to 5.18% on May 11 from 5.42% a month earlier
• Price falls in annual terms in the first-time buyer sector eased affordability problems in London and the southeast of England
• The number of homes for sale held at an 11-year high
• Sales agreed were 4% below their level a year earlier and 2% higher compared with the same period in 2024
(Reporting by Suban AbdullaEditing by William Schomberg)
