House prices flat in June as asking prices stagnate as housing market shrugs off election uncertainty

• The average property price on the market is now £375,110
• Cheaper areas in the north saw the biggest price increases
• Most buyers and sellers don’t let the election affect their moving plans

Asking property prices fell from their record high this month – but only by £21, according to Rightmove.

It means the average property on the market is now for sale for £375,110, although they tend to sell for less, with the average selling price of a property just under £289,000, according to the latest figures from Halifax.

Compared to June last year, prices have increased by 0.6 per cent or £2,251, according to Rightmove.

However, prices rose more in some areas, particularly in the cheaper regions of the north of England.

Five of the six cheapest areas hit new price records, including the North East where prices rose by 1 per cent in the month, the North West which rose by 0.9 per cent and the East Midlands which rose by 0.7 per cent.

Yorkshire and the Humber saw the highest year-on-year growth of 2.8 per cent, although prices remained flat on a month-on-month basis.

In contrast, the higher-priced regions of East Anglia and London were the only ones to see monthly price falls of 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.

What happens to the value of your home can also depend on its size.

“Top of the range” properties, which include five beds and detached four beds, saw their price fall by 0.6 per cent over the past month and the smallest annual increase of 0.1 per cent, Rightmove said.

The average home in this category now costs £689,810, with the monthly drop partly attributed to higher mortgage rates putting a squeeze on some buyers’ budgets.

A three- and four-bed second-step home now costs £343,947 on average, up 0.2 per cent over the past month and up 0.4 per cent year-on-year.

First-time buyers, which Rightmove classifies as two beds and below, saw a month-on-month fall of 0.1 per cent to an average of £227,757, although prices rose the most in a year, up 0.6 per cent.

Buyers keep calm and continue in the middle of the election

The property portal said the looming general election had not had a significant impact on the property market, apart from perhaps a small drop in the number of higher-priced homes being offered for sale.

In the two weeks since the surprise announcement of the election, the number of top sellers coming on the market was 3 per cent lower than a year ago, compared with 11 per cent higher in the previous fortnight, Rightmove said.

However, buyer demand has remained steady and is now 5 percent higher than in June last year.

In a Rightmove survey of more than 14,000 people, the vast majority (95 per cent) of those planning to move home said the election would not affect their plans.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science, said: “The vast majority of respondents say they will continue with their plans to move home.

“However, some potential sellers appear to be watching and waiting rather than taking action, as evidenced by the decline in new sellers entering the market, particularly at the top end.

“It’s understandable when many of these sellers have more flexibility than they ever deal with, but overall it seems to be common for the mass market.”

Ian Preston, group managing director of estate agents Preston Baker in Leeds, added: “The government’s decision to call a general election has not changed market conditions significantly.

“We had a small dip in listings last week, but that can easily be explained as the traditional dip we’d normally see in a mid-term week when more families decide to move out.”

Renting now cheaper than buying with a 5% deposit… in the south

For years, renting has been more expensive on average than buying a similarly sized home and paying off a mortgage.

However, rising mortgage rates mean this is no longer the case for many people with the smallest deposits.

Prospective buyers with a 5% down payment will pay an average of £300 more per month in mortgage payments than if they continued to rent, according to research by Hamptons estate agency.

This is based on an average mortgage rate of 6.1 per cent, with a typical mortgage rate of 5 per cent, according to Bank of England figures.

Hamptons said buying with a five per cent deposit doesn’t work financially in most places south of Birmingham.

In London, a mortgage service would cost the average tenant an extra £775 a month, equivalent to £9,300 a year.

Across Scotland and the three northern regions of England (North West, North East and Yorkshire & Humber), the difference in monthly costs between renting and buying with a 5% deposit is less than £100 a month.

In the Midlands, the difference is higher at £117 to £122 a month, Hamptons said.

Research by Rightmove showed a similar trend among those with 10% deposits.

For the average monthly cost of renting and buying with a 5% down payment to be similar, the typical mortgage rate would have to drop to 4.3 percent.

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at the Hamptons, said: “Despite rent growth at around 6 per cent year-on-year, renting remains more cost-effective than buying for most households across the country.

“High mortgage rates have forced buyers with small deposits out of the market and forced more households into longer leases. The increase in the monthly cost of buying a house with a small deposit caused the purchases [more expensive] in most places south of Birmingham.’