The housing market was at its busiest in May since the 2021 pandemic boom, with the number of sales agreed running at a four-year high, Zoopla’s house price index (HPI) found.
There were 13% more homes for sale than the year before, helped by better mortgage deals and changes to affordability checks, which meant buyers could borrow up to 20% more than earlier in the year.
Average UK house prices were up 1.6% on the year, reaching £268,250, an increase of £4,330.
Sellers needed to keep prices realistic, especially with more competition and 13% more homes on the market.
Separate figures showed the average home was selling at 3%, or £16,000, below the asking price, which had not changed much in recent months.
Research also showed that sales agreed were 6% higher than in May last year.
Mortgage rates had affected the market over the last three years, with sales dropping in 2022 and 2023 as rates hit 6%, then recovering in 2024 as rates fell.
The North West was the strongest market for house price increases.
Price growth was highest in cities like Blackburn, up 5.8%, and Belfast, up 6.1%.
Manchester and Liverpool also saw prices up by 2.5% and 3%.
Other North West cities with fast growth included Wigan at 4.4% and Birkenhead at 4.1%.
More homes were for sale in the South, with a 21% increase in the South West, 17% in London and 15% in the South East.
In the North West there were just 3% more homes for sale than the year before, and 5% more in Scotland.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “More homes for sale means more buyers looking to move home.
“This, coupled with more attractive mortgage deals and changes to how lenders assess affordability, is supporting an increase in the number of sales being agreed.
“There are more sales and stronger house price increases in northern regions of England and Scotland, where homes are more affordable.”
Donnell added: “In southern regions of England, affordability continues to weigh on price inflation and the number of sales being agreed.
“Sellers and buyers need to adopt different tactics based on where they live across the UK; however, all sellers need to keep their feet on the ground and be realistic on pricing expectations.
“We expect sales to keep rising over the second half of the year, with UK home values on track to be 2 per cent higher by the end of the year.”
Martin Bennett, owner of Crown Estates and Lettings Agents, said: “Business is booming in Blackburn, with increased demand for properties both at the lower and top end of the market.
“This is being reflected in house prices, with an entry-level property in Blackburn having an average asking price of approximately £75,000 compared to approximately £50,000 two years ago.
“From my experience, properties that are priced correctly are going under offer within two weeks of being listed, while it’s not uncommon to have 10+ potential buyers on the first day of viewings.”
Toby Leek, president of NAEA Propertymark, said: “Even during a time of economic turbulence, it is encouraging to see that the housing market is the busiest it has been since May 2021, and that house price inflation remains stable.
“This news demonstrates that there is still an appetite for housing as inflation in general continues to impact the wider economy.
“However, with the North West becoming the UK’s most popular housing market, it shows that more work needs to be done to even out house prices throughout the country so that people living in certain regions do not get priced out of the local housing markets there.
“It is vital that government policies across the UK are geared towards that aim.”
