LONDON: British estate agents have seen a pick-up in demand from buyers since the Bank of England's decision on Aug. 1 to begin cutting interest rates from a 16-year high, property website Rightmove said on Monday.
Rightmove, which says it advertises property for more than nine of every 10 estate agents in the United Kingdom, said buyer enquiries in August were 19 per cent higher than a year earlier, compared with an 11 per cent annual increase in July.
"While mortgage rates aren't yet substantially lower since the rate cut, the fact that the long-hoped-for first cut has finally arrived, and mortgage rates are heading downwards, is positive for home-mover sentiment," Rightmove director Tim Bannister said.
BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said after the rate cut that mortgage rates had fallen in anticipation of the move, and that the central bank would be careful not to cut rates too quickly.
Financial markets on Friday priced in at least one, and probably two, further quarter-point rate cuts this year.
The average interest rate on a five-year fixed-rate mortgage was now 4.80 per cent, Rightmove said, down from 5.82 per cent a year ago when the BoE had just raised rates to their peak of 5.25 per cent.
The average asking price for newly advertised property on Rightmove between July 7 and Aug. 10 was 1.5 per cent lower than a month earlier at 367,785 pounds (US$474,663), which Rightmove said was typical for August when there is usually a lull in activity.
Asking prices were 0.8 per cent higher than a year earlier, compared with an annual rise of 0.4 per cent the month before.
Official data based on sales completed in June has shown prices were 2.7 per cent higher than a year earlier, the joint-biggest increase since March 2023.