Property prices are only expected to increase by only 2% this year, down from 4%, after Rightmove revised its prediction.
The annual growth rate currently sits at just 0.1%, while prices fell in the past month, tempering expectations.
However, Rightmove said there’s strong buyer activity, while any further cuts to the Bank of England base rate could cheapen up mortgages, fuelling more demand.
This year there’s been a decade-high supply of homes on the market, which is limiting house price growth.
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: “It’s been a promising first half of the year for activity levels, particularly when you consider that some will have brought their plans forward to try to avoid added stamp duty from April.
“Even after the stamp duty deadline, we’re seeing more sales being agreed and more new potential buyers entering the market than at the same time last year.
“Still, the knock-on effect of high buyer choice is slower price growth, so we’re revising down our prediction of how much the asking price of a home will increase over the whole of the year.
“Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, there will still very likely be the usual quieter seasonal periods around the summer holidays and Christmas, but we expect market activity to continue to be resilient.
“Crucially, buyer affordability is heading in the right direction, and another two Bank Rate cuts before 2026 would be a big boost to this.”
This month the price of property coming to market dropped by -1.2%, bringing the average price down to £373,709, suggesting we are in a buyers’ market.
London is the biggest regional driver of new seller asking price falls this month (-1.5%), led by Inner London (-2.1%).
Babcock added: “We’re seeing an interesting dynamic between pricing and activity levels right now.
“The healthy and improving level of property sales being agreed shows us that there are motivated buyers out there who are willing to finalise a deal for the right property. What’s most important to remember in this market is that the price is key to selling.
“The decade-high level of buyer choice means that discerning buyers can quickly spot when a home looks over-priced compared to the many others that may be available in their area.
“It appears that more new sellers are conscious of this and are responding to this high-supply market with stand-out pricing to entice buyers and get their home sold.”