Rightmove has revealed better-than-expected sales as competitive mortgage rates have boosted homebuyer interest, but it cautioned over slowing growth over the rest of the year.
The property portal reported a 10% jump in sales to £211.7 million over the six months to the end of June, helping pre-tax profits rise 10.4% to £146.5 million.
Available listings surged to a 10-year high in its first half, and in June alone new listings and demand raced higher by 9% and 6% respectively.
Demand in the housing market was being buoyed by lower mortgage borrowing costs as lenders expect the Bank of England to cut interest rates again in the coming months.
But the group said revenue growth is set to slow over the final six months after a record performance a year earlier.
It still expects revenues to grow by between 8% to 10% over the year as a whole.
Johan Svanstrom, chief executive of Rightmove, said the performance comes “against a backdrop of a positive market for agents”.
The group has also been ramping up its use of artificial intelligence (AI) over the half-year.
Mr Svanstrom added: “Our investment in technology and people is yielding results and with continued innovation, we remain committed to improving consumers’ overall moving journeys, and enabling our partners to grow, compete, and succeed.
“We see a long runway of opportunity for digitalisation of the property ecosystem.”
