House prices hit record high of £377,182 according to property website Rightmove

House prices are heating up as the weather gets warmer, according to new data which shows homes are more expensive than ever. Property website Rightmove said it has seen "bigger changes in the market than usual" in April, as movers braced for the removal of the temporary stamp duty holiday at the start of the month.

However, despite a feared drop in sales activity due to the changes, the site said most people are continuing to proceed with their home-moving plans. Rightmove said this month the average price of a property coming to market has risen by 1.4% (+£5,312), reaching a new record of £377,182.

Property expert, Colleen Babcock, said the jump from March to April so far has been larger than expected. "We’ve seen our first price record in nearly a year, despite the number of homes for sale being at a decade-high," she said. "The increased choice seems to be bringing more home-movers into the market, with both buyer demand and seller numbers up."

She said with more homes available for sale than at this time last year, there’s more competition, so it’s important for sellers to get their asking price right. The high number of homes available in the market right now means that buyers are likely to have plenty in their area to choose from, and an overpriced home will stick out for the wrong reasons," Colleen went on.

"Our research also shows that getting the price right the first time is key. Homes that don’t need a reduction in price are more likely to find a buyer, and to find that buyer in less than half the time."

Alex Caddy, manager at Clarkes Estate and Letting Agency in Dorset, added: "Things are moving well when priced appropriately, and particularly popular homes can even go for above asking price. Those who may not be in a rush are testing the market with higher asking prices. In those cases viewing requests are far lower, indicating buyers are still price sensitive."

Since the April stamp duty changes, Rightmove said it hasn’t seen an increase in the number of home sales falling through, which indicates there hasn’t been any major backtracking from first-time buyers and movers.

However, the rise in house prices and demand has affected some areas more than others, with most Midlands and Northern regions, as well as Wales and Scotland, seeing increases in buyer demand above the national average compared to last year, along with new asking-price records. By contrast, the higher-priced South West and South East regions are seeing smaller increases in buyer demand and prices.

Phill Sandbach, director at John German in the Midlands, said: "March was a very busy month, with more completions than in the post-pandemic stamp duty holiday. Solicitors worked really hard to get so many movers through. April has started off as a busy month for us, with market appraisal requests, viewings and offers across all of our East and West Midlands offices."

London is the exception to the North-South divide. Despite being the only region with fewer buyers enquiring than at this time a year ago, average asking prices have also reached a new record this month. However, Rightmove warned this may be short-lived, with London typically being more exposed to the impacts of geopolitical tensions, as well as currently seeing weaker buyer demand levels.

As average mortgage rates remain just below 5%, with the current average five-year fixed mortgage rate of 4.72% being slightly lower than this time last year, a further rate cuts from the Bank of England in May could see them drop more quickly. Colleen added: “It’s difficult to predict what the next few months will bring, but if mortgage rates reduce more quickly, it would be a helpful boost to buyer affordability.”