Published by: Alex Maile
Events in the Gulf mean Trump is looming large over the UK housing market at the moment, and with each new pronouncement, the price of oil swings wildly, stoking fears over inflation and pushing up mortgage costs.Fortunately, though, the latest data from Rightmove shows the market is proving remarkably resilient. In fact, prices have edged up again this spring, with the average house price rising by 0.8% in April to £373,971, although that’s not quite as much as you would normally expect at this time of year. The figures show demand is also slightly softer than normal, with buyer enquiries running 7% below the same period last year, but with the number of sales agreed just 3% behind April 2025.
There is no doubt, however, that the rising cost of financing a home move is making buyers behave more cautiously, with five-year fixed rates typically up by around 0.75%.
But arguably, the bigger issue is that it is so hard to predict what’s coming next. Towards the end of last week, the oil tankers were once again on the move, and optimism had returned to the financial markets. By Monday, it was all change again, with all sides making claims and counter-claims as the Straits of Hormuz were closed once more. At the same time, there’s the promise of more talks.
Maybe, as the housing market has done, the only way to deal with it is to just shrug your shoulders and get on with it. The mortgage market seems to think so, because there are signs that rate rises are slowing and some lenders are even beginning to make small reductions.
Right, that’s it from me for now. I’ll see you again next month when, hopefully, some sanity will have returned to the world.