The figures add to growing optimism that cooling mortgage rates will spark an upturn in the property market this autumn. While the recovery in the housing market has been patchy in 2024, a recent decline in borrowing costs for home buyers and the BOE’s policy pivot have increased confidence in a stronger second half of the year.
Britain’s prospective home buyers stepped up their search for property after the Bank of England’s (BOE) first reduction in interest rates since the start of the pandemic, Rightmove said.
The online property portal said the number of buyers contacting estate agents to view houses for sale jumped 19% from a year ago since the BOE decision on Aug 1, an acceleration from the 11% increase across the month of July. The number of sellers coming to market also rose by 5% compared to a year ago.
