(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 18 mag - In May, the average price of newly listed homes in the UK rose a monthly 1.2% to 378,304 pounds, more than the typical ten-year May increase of 1.0%, as market confidence remains strong, but fell an annual 0.3%, after rising 0.8% and falling 0.9%, respectively, in April, according to data released by Rightmove.

Despite the annual drop, the market is showing marked discrepancies with the more affordable North East (+2.7%) and North West (+2.6%) continuing to grow, while London (-2.4%) and the South East (-1.6%) are seeing price drops.

This uneven price performance is unfolding against a backdrop of an 11-year high in buyer choice. With the number of homes for sale at its highest level for this time of year since 2015 and 32% of listings of existing homes for sale seeing a price reduction, new sellers need to price more competitively, as over-optimistic initial pricing is leading to longer selling times.

Market activity continues to hold up despite the ongoing cost-of-living pressures and recent higher mortgage rates, with sales agreed down by just 4% compared with this time last year and 2% higher than the same period in 2024.

Sales in the first-time buyer sector are proving nearly as resilient, down 4% compared with the stronger 2025 market and only 1% lower than 2024. This indicates that first-time buyers have not yet been disproportionately impacted by recent mortgage rate rises, despite being more reliant on borrowing than other parts of the market.

Rightmove's daily mortgage tracker shows that the average two-year fixed rate has dropped to 5.18%, from 5.42% last month, "providing a small but welcome boost to buyer.

confidence and affordability."

(RADIOCOR) 18-05-26 10:39:20 (0194) 5 NNNN