Rightmove: Agency stock is back to 2019 levels

Agency stock has returned to 2019 levels as demand eases, Rightmove claims.

The portal’s latest data revealed that the number of homes coming to market so far this month has increased by 16% annually, a return to 2019 levels. 
 
It comes as Rightmove’s House Price Index showed the average price of property coming to market increased by 8.7% annually this month to £367,760 – up from 8.2% in August.
Monthly asking price growth also bounced back from a 1.3% drop last month to 0.7% at the start of September.

Asking price growth this month is driven predominantly by the middle and high-end market sectors, Rightmove said, with the “second stepper” category reaching a new record average asking price of £340,513.

Buyer demand in these sectors is up by 2% even compared to the frenetic market of last year.

However, the portal warned that the cost of living crisis and higher mortgage rates appears to be weighing on first-time buyers, with demand from this cohort down 8% annually.
 

Rightmove said this figure is still up by 27% compared with the five-year pre-pandemic average between 2015 and 2019.

Total demand is down by 2% compared with the same period last year but is still 20% above the pre-pandemic average, Rightmove said.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science, said: “The housing market continues to be extremely resilient even in the face of the economic headwinds that are stretching household finances. 

“The rising cost of living is increasingly playing a role in some buyers’ considerations, as they look at their budgets and what they can afford. First-time buyers still face the challenges of rising interest rates, saving for an increasingly large deposit, and increasing rents. Industry data shows more people are rushing to fix their mortgage rates, and following another rate rise this is likely to increase further.”