The average house price in England and Wales is set to fall by 1.6% over the next three months, says Reallymoving.

It details a monthly 0.2% rise in February with drops of 0.9% in March and 0.8% in April.

Reallymoving bases its projections on the purchase prices it captures when home buyers search for conveyancing quotes and other moving-related services on its comparison platform.

Buyers typically search for quotes three months before their purchase completes, which provides an indicator of house price trends over the months ahead.

The firm reports that rising interest rates and inflation concerns (with CPI inflation announced as being 5.5% earlier today, 16 February), “may already be having an impact on consumer sentiment, resulting in buyers agreeing to pay less for properties.”

Reallymoving chief executive Rob Houghton says: “Falls in the average house price in March and April could indicate the beginning of a slowdown in the property market, but the rate of growth we’ve seen since the summer of 2020 couldn’t continue indefinitely and a return to a more stable footing would be good news for first-time buyers in particular.”

Land Registry data released today shows that house prices rose 10.8% on an annual basis at the close of last year.

Houghton continues: “While growth in earnings fails to keep pace with the cost of living, worries about the inevitable squeeze on household finances will make some people think twice about moving and reluctant to take on more debt, which is why the shortage of homes for sale across the board could be an ongoing problem in 2022 – especially considering many of the people who would have sold this year brought their move forward to benefit from the stamp duty saving.

“Much will depend on the volume of new listings we see hitting the market this spring and the speed at which lenders push up the cost of fixed rate deals.”