Tim Bannister Rightmove’s Director of Property Science said “After a stop-start market in 2023, the initial signs suggest a smoother year for movers in 2024. More new sellers are now entering the market, and with more confident pricing. While the increased level of buyer activity that we’re also seeing may justify some of this increased pricing confidence from sellers, it’s important that sellers who are keen to find a buyer don’t get carried away with New Year enthusiasm when setting their price expectations. Elevated mortgage rates and the wider cost-of-living squeeze are still limiting buyers’ spending power. Accurate and realistic pricing for their local area is the recipe for success for sellers looking to get moving in 2024, and it’s been proven that over-optimistic pricing makes a move much less likely.”

"Whilst it’s an early snapshot of 2024, both buyer and seller activity have jumped compared to the same period a year ago, indicating a return of confidence when compared with the unsettled post-mini-Budget period. The number of potential buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale in the first week of 2024 was 5% higher than in the same period last year, with the growth in activity strongest in London and the North East."

"The number of properties coming to market for sale is also 15% higher than at the start of last year, following a record number of sellers launching on Rightmove on Boxing Day. The North East and South West have seen the greatest addition of new choice for the increased number of new buyers. There remains no glut of homes for sale, with the total number of available properties just 1% above the more normal market levels of 2019. However, it is vital that those who are keen to sell price competitively, even with this new buyer activity, as the number of properties coming to market is outpacing the rise in the number of buyers enquiring."

"The most positive early indicator for 2024 is that the number of sales being agreed is 20% higher at the start of the year than in the same period last year. This also shows that many sellers are pricing attractively enough to tempt buyers who were hesitant to commit a year ago when the outlook for mortgage rates and buyer affordability was much more uncertain."

"Since the 27th of December, Rightmove has seen nine of its ten busiest days for prospective movers beginning the process of getting a Mortgage in Principle, to see how much they are likely to be able to borrow from a lender, and therefore the type of home that they may be able to afford. January is on course to be the busiest month for people getting a Mortgage in Principle on Rightmove since that service was launched in 2022. Whilst it is still early days, this is another positive sign of future movers getting their 2024 budgets and plans in place."