House prices in the UK have remained roughly flat this month after hitting a record high in May, according to Rightmove data released overnight, though average prices are up 0.6% compared to a year ago.
The snap election call by Rishi Sunak has only had a small effect, the report says, with most buyers and sellers not changing their plans in light of the potential change in government.
A small dip in the number of new sellers was noted, especially at the top end of the market, where there was a 3% drop in the number of sellers in the past two weeks, compared to 11% higher in the previous two weeks. Overall, the number of sellers was 1% higher than a year ago, versus 6% higher in the two weeks prior.
The number of sales in the past four weeks remained 6% higher than a year ago, as in May, while buyer demand was also reported to have remained stable, 5% higher than last year.
"It’s always difficult to predict how home-movers will react to sudden uncertainty, but looking back through our data, we can see that during previous election campaigns, market activity has remained largely steady," said Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science.
"This election has followed a similar pattern so far."
He said the drop in top-end sellers coming to market is "understandable when many of these sellers have more flexibility over when
they act, but overall, it appears to be business as usual for the mass market".
More than nine in 10 people (95%) said the election will not affect their plans, a poll of over 14,000 people by the online property portal found.
The average house price in the past month was £375,110, a drop of just £21, based on all residential properties coming to market in the past four weeks.