Zoopla expects house prices to remain ‘subdued’ despite surge in buyer demand

Zoopla’s latest house price index showed a fall in mortgage rates had boosted property market confidence. But a rise in supply has kept house price inflation in check.

A red for sale sign outside a home's front door
Zoopla has said house prices are unlikely to surge given it expects supply volumes to remain strong
(Image credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Housing market activity has surged off the back of the cheapest mortgage rates in months, new data from Zoopla has shown.

According to the property website’s house price index (HPI) for September, buyer demand and agreed sales were up by around a quarter year-on-year thanks to falling lending rates in the wake of the August interest rate cut. However, it found affordability constraints have continued to keep UK house price growth subdued.

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Henry Sandercock has spent more than eight years as a journalist covering a wide variety of beats. Having studied for an MA in journalism at the University of Kent, he started his career in the garden of England as a reporter for local TV channel KMTV.

Henry then worked at the BBC for three years as a radio producer - mostly on BBC Radio 2 with Jeremy Vine, but also on major BBC Radio 4 programmes like The World at One, PM and Broadcasting House. Switching to print media, he covered fresh foods for respected magazine The Grocer for two years.

After moving to NationalWorld.com - a national news site run by the publisher of The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post - Henry began reporting on the cost of living crisis, becoming the title’s money editor in early 2023. He covered everything from the energy crisis to scams, and inflation. He also has bylines in MoneyWeek.