It comes after the latter half of 2023 saw asking prices decline
The latest index shows the average asking price across the UK reached £266,400 in July, up from £263,600 in January.
It comes after the latter half of 2023 saw asking prices decline.
Annual asking price growth was positive in eight regions and negative in four, according to Zoopla.
The only regions where prices declined year on year were the South East, South West, East Midlands and East of England.
London asking prices bucked the negative trend of surrounding regions, with a marginal rise of 0.2% compared to 2023.
Northern Ireland had the sharpest annual growth at 5.1%.
The supply of homes for sale increased to a seven-year high of 33 properties per agent in July.
But sellers of one in five homes are having to reduce their asking price by 5%.
The property portal found that homes typically take more than twice as long to sell in such cases – with the time increasing from 28 to 73 days on average.
Zoopla executive director Richard Donnell says: Momentum in the sales market continues to build as mortgage rates drop and more and more sellers gain the confidence to list their home for sale.
Buyers have much greater choice which will support sales numbers, but this will keep prices rises in check, he said.
Buyers have less purchasing power than two or three years ago and remain price-sensitive, meaning sellers can’t afford to get ahead of themselves on where to set the right price for their home, he said.
If you need to reduce the asking price by 5% or more then your home will take twice as long to sell or may not sell at all, he added.
Hargreaves Lansdown head of personal finance Sarah Coles says: There is plenty to cheer in this data, with house prices up 1.4% since the beginning of the year, buyer demand booming and more sales being agreed.
The BoE interest rate cut has boosted sentiment significantly, and helped persuade buyers that now is a decent time to get stuck in, says Coles.
It did not have a dramatic overnight impact on average mortgage rates, but they have continued drifting southwards, and the fact they have been dropping for a couple of months is starting to really add up, she adds.
