Average house price soars to record high

THE AVERAGE price tag on a home has hit a record high for the second month in a row with sellers asking nearly £380,000 on average in May, according to a property website.

- VICKY SHAW

Across Britain, the average asking price for a home coming on the market jumped by £2,335 or 0.6% month-on-month in May, Rightmove said.

It took the average asking price to a record £379,517 in May, with April also having been a record high for asking prices. Asking prices have reached new record highs in the month of May for the past five years.

But Rightmove said that prices this month have risen more slowly than usual, following a stamp duty deadline stampede earlier in the year.

After a busier-than-usual March, new buyer demand slowed in April to 4% below the same month in 2024. Stamp duty discounts became less generous for some home buyers from April. Stamp duty applies in England and Northern Ireland. However, demand in the year to date is still ahead of last year, and there are early signs of a bounceback in May, Rightmove said. It suggested that some new buyers may have been holding out for May’s base rate decision.