UK home sales in 2023 will be lowest in a decade, says Zoopla

An estate agent’s board outside a property in Windsor. Annual house prices fell at the fastest rate in 14 years in July. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

The number of UK homes sold this year is expected to fall to the lowest level in more than a decade, as the soaring cost of mortgages puts off homebuyers.

House sales reaching completion are expected to fall 21% year-on-year to about 1m in 2023, the lowest level since 2012, according to a report from the property website Zoopla.