Rightmove, the UK's largest property portal, is predicting a more positive year for the UK housing market, with a slight increase in customer numbers compared to 2023.
The company anticipates a 2% year-on-year rise in customers, a shift from an earlier prediction of a "slight decrease". Despite high mortgage rates and lengthy transaction completion times continuing to burden the market, Rightmove stated that customers are "now increasingly looking to transact".
Sales agreed between January and April are up by 17% compared to the same period last year, with the company forecasting 1.1 million sales to occur over 2024. According to Rightmove's house price index, annual house price growth stands at 1.7%, the highest in 12 months.
These figures were released as part of a trading update on Friday, ahead of the company's annual shareholder meeting. This data seems to align with analysis by Halifax earlier this week, suggesting that house hunters are adjusting to a significantly different market than a few years ago.
Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, commented on Wednesday that the housing market was "finding its feet in an era of higher interest rates". Interest rates are not expected to improve soon, following the Bank of England's decision yesterday to keep the base interest rate at 5.25% for at least another month, marking its highest level since 2008.
Rightmove has reported a surge in rental market activity, describing it as "very busy" with an 18% jump in listings availability in the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period last year. Rents have also soared, averaging 7.6% higher than in 2023.
Johan Svanstrom, Rightmove chief executive, said: “Overall, we continue to expect a better year for the UK property market in 2024 than in 2023. Within that, we see different dynamics across the many segments that we serve, with particular strength in resales.”
On its own financials, Rightmove cut its forecast for the average revenue per advertiser (Arpa), a key metric. Rightmove’s Arpa growth forecast fell to £75-85, down from £100-110. The update sent its shares 4.8% lower in morning trading. The company kept its annual revenue and profit expectations unchanged.
