The average asking price for British homes recorded its biggest fall in more than 20 years.
According to property site Rightmove, the average price of homes coming onto the market dropped by 1.2% to £373,709 from 8 June to 12 July.
While it is typical for there to be a seasonal drop in house prices in July, this marks the largest monthly fall since Rightmove began its index in 2002.
The increase is spurred on by the number of properties for sale, which is at its highest level in a decade.
“What’s most important to remember in this market is that the price is key to selling,” Rightmove property expert Colleen Babock says.
“The decade-high level of buyer choice means that discerning buyers can quickly spot when a home looks over-priced compared to the many others that may be available in their area.”
London saw the highest number of falls in asking prices, dropping 1.5% from last month and sliding by 2.1% in inner London.
Despite the stamp duty deadline ending in April for England and North Ireland, sales agreed rose 5% from last year. The sales-agreed increase was helped along by competitive pricing.
“Even after the stamp duty deadline, we’re seeing more sales being agreed and more new potential buyers entering the market than at the same time last year,” Babcock said.
Average asking prices are also only 0.1% higher than they were a year ago.
Due to the high level of seller competition, Rightmove is reducing its price forecast for 2025 from an increase of 4% to an increase of 2%, but maintaining its prediction of 1.15 million transactions this year.
“The knock-on effect of high buyer choice is slower price growth, so we’re revising down our prediction of how much the asking price of a home will increase over the whole of the year,” Babock said.
“Looking ahead to the second half of 2025, there will still very likely be the usual quieter seasonal periods around the summer holidays and Christmas, but we expect market activity to continue to be resilient.”
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