The average asking price for a property in April was £373,971 – which is an increase of 0.8% over the month. But it is a much smaller jump than the 1.2% typically seen in April.
According to the Rightmove House Price Index new buyer demand is 7% lower than this time last year and sales agreed is 3% down on the same period.
Its own daily mortgage tracker showed the average two-year fixed rate had increased from 4.25% before the conflict began to 5.42%. This, it said, added a monthly average of £235 to a typical new mortgage.
But despite this, Rightmove said the property market had been ‘surprisingly resilient’.
More positively, the number of homes newly coming to market was only 1% behind last year, and 13% higher than in 2024.
What’s more, buyer affordability had benefitted from average earnings being up by 3.9% on last year, outpacing average asking prices which were down 0.9%.
A typical mover is also now able to borrow more, due to last year’s review of mortgage lending limits, it said.
It is the sellers who are in the less advantageous position with Rightmove reporting competition remained ‘intense’ due to the fact the number of properties on the market was so high.
The advice to anyone selling a home was to ‘price competitively’.
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: “With mortgage rates remaining elevated due to the war in Iran, it’s not a surprise that price growth is proving strongest in parts of the market less exposed to higher borrowing costs, such as top-of-the-ladder homes, while sectors more exposed to interest rates are seeing slower momentum.
“Across Great Britain, Scotland stands out as an example of resilience, with average prices rising by over 4%. Lower average asking prices and a faster home-buying process continue to support price growth in the Scottish market.
“However, for most of the market, the combination of rising mortgage rates and the number of homes for sale being at its highest level for the time of year over a decade, means that competitive pricing is crucial for sellers looking to attract buyer interest and secure a sale this spring.”