The average asking price of homes being put on the UK market has fallen by 2.1% over the last month, according to Rightmove, which said it had seen the largest pre-Christmas dip of the last four years.
The UK’s biggest property website said the average asking price was £359,137 in early December – about £7,862 less than a month previously. The fall in asking prices followed a 1.1% decrease in November’s prices, and will be seen as further evidence that the property market is rapidly cooling.
Kwasi Kwarteng’s infamous mini-budget, which sent mortgage rates rocketing, looks to be the point at which property prices peaked – for now at least.
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Last week Halifax said prices in the UK fell by 2.3% in November, the largest monthly drop on its index since the start of the 2008 financial crisis.
Terraced properties on the high street, Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, England
UK house prices fall at fastest rate in 14 years, says Halifax
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At the start of the month, Nationwide said UK house prices were falling at the fastest pace in almost two and a half years, as the turmoil of September’s mini-budget affected the sector.
Despite this, Rightmove said that at the end of 2022, average asking prices were 5.6% higher than at this time a year ago, only slightly below the 6.3% growth recorded in 2021.
However, it predicted a 2% fall in prices next year as a multispeed, hyperlocal market emerges, with “some locations, property types and sectors faring much better than others”.
The number of views of homes for sale on Rightmove was up 11% compared with this time last year, a sign that there are many potential movers who are weighing up their options, it said.
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“After two and a half years of frenetic activity it’s easy to forget that having multiple bidders immediately lining up to buy your home was the exception rather than the norm in pre-pandemic years, and there will be a period of readjustment for home-movers as properties take longer to find the right buyer,” said Rightmove’s Tim Bannister.
“We’re heading towards a more even balance between supply and demand next year, but we don’t expect a surge in forced sales, which would cause a glut of properties for sale and contribute to more significant price falls in 2023,” he added.
By Miles Brignall
Source: The Guardian