Asking prices have risen by 1.4% over the first seven months of 2024, but are only 0.5% higher than a year ago, according to Zoopla

The latest index shows the average asking price across the UK reached £266,400 in July, up from £263,600 in January.

It comes after the latter half of 2023 saw asking prices fall.

Annual asking price growth was positive in eight regions and negative in four, Zoopla reports.

The only regions where prices dropped year on year were the South East, South West, East Midlands and East of England.

London asking prices bucked the negative trend of surrounding regions, with a slight increase of 0.2% compared to last year.

Northern Ireland saw the steepest annual growth at 5.1%.

The supply of homes for sale rose to a seven-year high of 33 properties per agent in July.

But sellers of one in five homes are having to cut their asking price by 5%.

The property site found that homes typically take more than twice as long to sell in such cases – with the time increasing from 28 to 73 days on average.

Zoopla executive director Richard Donnell says: “Momentum in the sales market continues to build as mortgage rates drift lower and more and more sellers gain the confidence to list their home for sale.

“Buyers have much greater choice which will support sales numbers, but this will keep prices rises in check. 

“Buyers have less purchasing power than two or three years ago and remain price-sensitive, meaning sellers can’t afford to get ahead of themselves on where to set the right price for their home. 

“If you need to cut the asking price by 5% or more then your home will take twice as long to sell or may not sell at all.” 

Hargreaves Lansdown head of personal finance Sarah Coles says: “There’s plenty to cheer in this data, with house prices up 1.4% since the beginning of the year, buyer demand booming and more sales being agreed. 

“The Bank of England interest rate cut has boosted sentiment significantly, and helped persuade buyers that now is a decent time to get stuck in. 

“It didn’t have a dramatic overnight impact on average mortgage rates, but they’ve continued drifting southwards, and the fact they have been falling for a couple of months is starting to really add up.”

Propertymark chief executive Nathan Emerson says: “There is a real positivity within the housing market now that the economy seems to have stabilised. 

“This is the UK government’s chance to take advantage of current market confidence by clarifying a more precise timeframe for enacting the Planning and Infrastructure Bill as this will build the homes desperately needed in order to keep up with ever-growing demand and start to form a plan of action if the government wants to meet its target of building nearly two million new homes across the next parliamentary term.”