Market News

Average asking prices for UK houses crept up again this month to £370,257, according to new research, but were still 0.1% lower than a year ago — meaning September is marks the first annual price drop since January 2024.

This is "the culmination of several months of competitive pricing by new sellers over the summer," housing platform Rightmove (RMV.L) said.

“We’d expect to see a slight uptick in new seller asking prices in September, with the traditional back to school season boosting activity heading into autumn," said Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove.

"This year’s 0.4% September price rise is a little lower than the norm, which is an average of 0.6% at this time of year."

The drop has spurred on buying activity in the high-supply market, with the number of sales being agreed now 4% higher than at this time last year.

London has glided below the national average, however, alongside the south of England. Both regions have driven the overall average dip in prices.

In the south west, prices are down by 1.3% compared with last year, while in the north west they’re up by 3.2%, highlighting the south’s underperformance.

The decade-high number of homes for sale is more pronounced in the south of England, contributing to the lower pricing, as sellers look to stand out among the more plentiful competition. The number of homes for sale in the south of England is up by 9% on this time last year, compared to 2% across the rest of Great Britain.

It also takes an average of five days longer to find a buyer in the south of England than in the north and Wales, while Scotland is much faster than other regions. However, the overall number of sales being agreed is up by 4% on last year.

How big a factor is the budget?

While there’s a long way to go until the Autumn budget on 26 November, if the mooted property tax changes become reality, they could exacerbate this underperformance, Rightmove (RMV.L) added.

“Rumours of property tax changes began swirling in mid-August, and with the budget itself not arriving until the end of November, this kind of extended uncertainty can affect market activity, especially in the higher price brackets," said Babcock.

"Movers want to be confident in planning their moving costs. Our real-time data has not yet picked up any major shifts, however it’s understandable that those who could be negatively affected by the rumoured changes might be in the process of reassessing their short- and medium-term plans.

"Our analysis highlights how London and south England-centric the changes would be, and these are the areas that are already performing less strongly," she added.

If the government changed the way stamp duty works on properties over £500,000, more than half (59%) of sales in the capital would be affected.

By contrast, it is 22% on average across the rest of England, and in the North East it is just 8%. Furthermore, more than one in ten homes (11%) in London are priced at £1.5 million pounds or more and would be subject to the rumoured mansion tax, versus an average of just 2% outside the capital.