12:01 AM, 17th April 2026, 1 minute ago
Higher borrowing costs are reshaping who moves home and when, as households adjust to a sharp jump in mortgage pricing, one report reveals.
Connells Group data shows the speed of rate rises, rather than the level, unsettled activity through March.
In March, 83% of movers agreed a mortgage above 4%, up from 58% a month earlier, marking the steepest monthly shift since the 2022 mini-Budget.
The average rate on a new purchase climbed to 4.57%, the highest since last April.
Rapid rate rises
The group’s research director, Aneisha Beveridge, said: “What unsettled the market in March wasn’t so much the level of mortgage rates, which are broadly back to where they were this time last year, but the rapid change in direction and pace at which borrowing costs rose.
“That sudden shift inevitably caught some buyers and sellers off guard and led to a dip in activity.”
She added: “Even so, the market has held up better than many feared.
“Buyer demand cooled modestly, but it didn’t fall away, and sales levels remained relatively resilient – helped by the fact that many households were already progressing with cheaper mortgage deals secured earlier in the year.
“First-time buyers saw the smallest rate increases and consequently accounted for the highest share of March purchases on record.”
Home buying is down
The data also reveals that buyer activity eased, but only slightly.
Sales agreed were 2% lower year-on-year, with many transactions still progressing on deals secured earlier in the year at cheaper rates.
First-time buyers accounted for 34% of purchases, the highest share for any March since 2006.
That came as rate increases for this group were less pronounced than for movers.
Higher first-time buyer rates
Rates on lower loan-to-value products, typically used by homeowners trading up, rose faster, narrowing the gap with higher-LTV borrowing.
Family buyers and second steppers were more exposed to the shift.
Across all buyers, 89% took mortgages above 4% in March, up from 72% in January.
The share borrowing above 5% rose from 6% in February to 19% in March.
Among first-time buyers, 94% paid above 4%, compared with 86% a month earlier.
Some 22% borrowed above 5%, broadly in line with a year ago but up from 7% at the start of the year.
Agreed sales fall
Sales agreed were down 2% annually across Great Britain, following a 4% fall in February.
Around 44% of March completions had mortgage offers agreed in January or February, while 47% of buyers had secured deals as far back as 2025.
In the South East, sales fell 12% year-on-year. Several Northern regions recorded increases, reflecting lower price points.
Homes sold for an average of 1.5% below their final asking price in March, compared with 1.0% a year earlier.
Properties above £1m saw discounts of around 3.5%, while homes priced between £500k and £1m recorded a year-on-year increase in reductions to around 2%.
The share of homes selling below asking stood at 16.8% in England and Wales, down from 17.9% in February, the lowest level since September 2025.
Stock levels remain elevated, with around 40% more homes on the market than in 2019.
New listings fell 7% year-on-year, the largest decline since April last year.