The UK housing market has shown signs of stabilizing this month according to reports by Rightmove and financial news outlets.
Despite higher mortgage rates and economic uncertainty, the average asking price for homes on the market rose by 0.8% in March to £365,357, reflecting a more stable market than expected.
According to Rightmove, the market is recovering from a spike in borrowing costs at the end of last year, caused by policies put forward by former Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.
Financial news outlet, The Guardian, highlights that UK's underwhelming economic performance and historically high mortgage rates have prompted forecasts of a 10% fall in prices this year, though this does not seem to be reflected in the March figures.
Reports suggest that activity in the housing market is picking up towards more normal pre-pandemic levels, with property sellers being more cautious than usual about pricing.
A survey undertaken by Rightmove indicated that property buyers remain active despite the uncertainty, with Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science saying "people are still going ahead with these purchases and we are starting to see more of the seasonal upturn in momentum as we head towards Easter".
However, the 0.8% average monthly increase for March this year is below the 1.0% average monthly increase over the last 20 years, with buyers and sellers fairly cautious about pricing.
Financial news outlets and Rightmove suggest that the housing market is stabilizing more quickly than anticipated after its late 2022 hit.
While borrowing costs have eased from their peak, they are still nearly double their level before Truss's unfunded tax cut plans, leading to turmoil in bond markets.
Consequently, concerns have been raised about the impact of global economic headwinds and higher mortgage rates on the UK housing market.
However, Rightmove suggests the market is on a much more stable footing than many expected, despite being below average for the month of March.