UK house prices hit a new record high in May as the housing market continued to defy pessimistic forecasts at the start of the year, figures showed.
Rightmove's house price index showed the average price of property coming to market jumped by 1.8%, £6,647, to set a new peak of £372,894 as sellers responded with increased pricing confidence.
The 1.8% monthly increase is the biggest of the year so far, and significantly higher than the historic average May rise of 1.0%, Rightmove said.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science, suggested one reason for this increased confidence "may be that the gloomy start-of-the-year predictions for the market are looking increasingly unlikely".
"What is much more likely is that the market will continue to transition to a more normal activity level this year following the exceptional activity of the pandemic years," Bannister said.
Rightmove said agreed sales numbers are currently just 3% behind the last more normal pre-pandemic market of 2019 while the discount from final asking price to agreed sale price has steadied at an average of 3.1%, in line with normal market levels.
A steadying in average fixed-rate mortgages is also contributing to greater home-mover confidence. The average rate for a five-year fixed, 15% deposit mortgage is now 4.56%, down from 5.89% in October, Rightmove said
"A more stable mortgage market is good news, and after a period of rapid rate rises followed by some significant falls this year, this period of relative stability will help home-movers to plan ahead," Rightmove's Bannister said.