Your Watford & Hertfordshire market report

Although many people are still waiting for the base rate to start coming down before moving, May is traditionally one of the strongest performing months in the housing calendar. It has set price records in 12 of the previous 22 years, and this year, prices still made gains, but only relatively small ones. Rightmove's property index rose by 0.8%, increasing to a record £375,131, just 0.6% higher than prices last year.

As has been the case for some time, the top-of-the-ladder homes—four—and five-bedroom properties—saw the most growth. Annually, their prices rose more than twice as fast as the average, at 1.3%.

In contrast, Halifax's figures showed a slight fall in May but had more robust annual growth of 1.5%. Together, though, they paint a very similar picture. As Paul Gillespie, Managing Director of Rolstons, says:

"Market activity remained resilient throughout the spring months, supported by strong nominal wage growth and evidence of an improvement in confidence about the economic outlook. This has been reflected in a broadly stable picture of property price movements, with the average cost of a property little changed over the last three months."

He says, "While homebuyers and those remortgaging will continue to respond to changes in borrowing costs, set against a backdrop of a limited supply of available properties, the market is unlikely to see huge fluctuations in the near term."

We are, however, approaching an election. Traditionally, that means the market will likely go quiet in the run-up. There will then be a hiatus for a week or two, after which it will return to exactly where it left off.

Rental & Buy To Let Market

Rent rises increased sharply last month, with monthly growth dropping from 1.6% in April to 0.2% in May. The average rent is now £1,297, a rise of 6.9% compared to last year. In London, the slowdown was even more pronounced, with annual growth falling to 6%. The Capital's rental growth doubled during the same period last year.

As always, there are some very wide variations between the postcodes. So, if you're a tenant in Ealing (+16.4%), Barking, Dagenham and Havering (+13.0%), Croydon (+10.8%) or Richmond (+10.6%), it won't feel much like a cooling market. (Source: Homelet's Rental Index).

According to Zoopla's data, rental inflation has now been at its lowest for more than two and a half years, and they have said they expect the slowdown to continue for the remainder of 2024. They also note, however, that supply levels are slowly improving - the average number of homes for rent per estate agent has increased by almost a fifth (18%) over the past year, while demand has come down by 25%. The number of available properties, though, is around 33% below pre-pandemic levels, and there are still as many as 15 households chasing every available rental home.

If you'd like to talk to an agent for more personalised advice, our team are always on hand to help. We'd love to hear from you, whether just a quick chat or a no-obligation property valuation.

Warm wishes,
The team at Rolstons.