Rightmove sees stable property market for rest of 2022 after cooling slightly in H1

(Reuters) - UK's Rightmove expects "broadly stable" market activity for the rest of the year, the online real-estate portal said on Friday, after it posted a higher half-year profit.

The operator of Britain's No. 1 real estate portal also said the property market cooled slightly in the first half of the year from the frenetic pace of 2021, but remained healthy and ahead of corresponding period in the pre-pandemic 2019 fiscal.

The UK property market, which recovered strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic riding on government support measures and strong demand in an undersupplied market, is facing fresh challenges as a deepening cost-of-living crisis and rising interest rates weigh on property buyers.

"Activity on our platform was significantly higher than in the pre-pandemic market of 2019, with home-hunters using Rightmove for 1.5 billion minutes every month," said Chief Executive Officer Peter Brooks-Johnson, who is slated to leave the FTSE 100 firm next year.

Average Revenue Per Advertiser (ARPA), a key metric for Rightmove, rose 11% to 1,290 pounds per month and the company expects expect ARPA growth in the second half of the year broadly to mirror pre-pandemic growth levels.

Operating profit grew 6% to 121.3 million pounds ($147.9 million) for the six months ended June 30, while revenue climbed 9% to 162.7 million pounds.

($1 = 0.8201 pounds)

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)