Property market sees slowest start to year since 2012 - Rightmove
The UK property market suffered its slowest start to the year this January since 2012.
According to the latest Rightmove survey, house prices rose by 0.4% on the month this month, which was the lowest monthly jump this time of year since January 2012, but better than the 1.5% drop seen in December.
On the year, house prices were also up 0.4%, slowing down from the 0.7% increase since in December.
The survey found that it has been a patchy but active start to the year, with more northerly regions faring better in terms of pricing power and willingness to move than those farther south.
Mile Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said: "As we move from the old year into the new, the headline summary is that the Christmas slowdown came early and the hangover lasted a few days longer into the New Year than usual. Agents report that activity is now picking up, though when you dig underneath the national averages, the first snapshot of 2019 shows a somewhat patchy and variable picture depending on where you are in the country.
"Given the current market backdrop and ongoing political turmoil, it’s not surprising that the more challenging conditions in London and its nearby regions mean that they appear to have had a slower start to the year. Overall however, with Rightmove visits up by 5 % on 2018 and at record levels for this time of year, it is encouraging that potential home - movers are still searching in vast numbers. Traditionally this is the time of year when more movers look at a wider choice of fresh property supply and kick - start the market, and this year’s buyers have the added spur of the slowest rate of new year price increases for five years."
Three out of 11 regions have seen actual price falls this month. In London, where Brexit uncertainty is weighing the most, there has been an average drop of 1.5% in new seller asking prices, while the adjacent South East region remains muted with a price increase of just 0.2%.