Properties continue to move swiftly through the market, thanks to elevated demand, according to Home.co.uk’s Asking Price Index for December.

Consequently, agents’ portfolios have been thinned out, thereby reducing the national stock level despite increased supply.

Pricing remains tight, however, with all regions indicating average price reductions, the magnitude of which is more than merely seasonal. Vendors are clearly motivated and therefore pricing competitively.

Overall, the vital signs of the UK property sales market confirm that it is operating normally. Property through­put is currently higher than many of the pre-Covid years. Room for further price growth appears limited due to affordability constraints.

The average asking price in Eng­land and Wales remains notably lower than the peak pricing observed in the summer months of 2022.

Whilst expectations of lower inter­est rates going forward have buoyed confidence in the market, fears of increased taxation and restrictive legislation persist, especially among landlords.

Consequently, we expect landlords to continue to offload their least profitable properties, thereby adding to sales supply but reduc­ing rental property availability. On a regional basis, yields continue to be better in the North than in London and the South.

UK asking rent growth is now sub-inflation (0.8%).

But it is important to reiterate that this annualised national growth figure obscures the enormous differences regionally between Greater London at -1.9% and the two best perform­ers, East Midlands (+12.7%) and Yorkshire (+11.0%). This is due to the predominance of rental properties in the capital.

The annualised mix-adjusted aver­age asking price growth (sales) across England and Wales is now 1.7%; in December 2023, the annualised growth of home prices was 0.1%.