Average house prices dip 0.2% says Rightmove

Average asking prices fell 0.2% in July, compared to the previous month, according to the latest data from Rightmove.  

The average UK home is now £371,907, down £905 from a month earlier.

The data also shows prices are just 0.5% higher than in the same period last year - the lowest rate of year-on-year monthly growth since November 2019.

The monthly fall comes despite the number of properties available to buy being 12% lower than at this time in 2019.

Buyer demand remains 3% higher than it was in 2019. The numbers of sales agreed in June in the mid-market second-stepper sector and the top-of-the-ladder sector are 14% behind what they were in 2019.  

With the Bank of England’s base rate at 5% and high interest rates, Rightmove says it agents are reporting that some movers are delaying buying or selling until mortgage rates have stabilised. 

The average interest rate on Rightmove’s mortgage tracker for a five-year fixed mortgage of 85% loan-to-value mortgage is now 5.69%.

“The interest-rate brakes being applied more strongly to slow the economy are now beginning to bite in the housing market. While prices and sales bounced back this year much more strongly than most expected, the unexpectedly stubborn inflation figures and the surprise of further mortgage rate rises when many felt that they had stabilised, have contributed to the fall in prices and number of sales agreed,” Rightmove’s Tim Bannister said in a statement.

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“There remains a large volume of motivated buyers who can factor rate rises into their budgets and are continuing to enquire about homes for sale, which is keeping the market functioning, albeit now with lower sales levels than at this time in 2019. 

“Sellers who price right the first time, rather than starting with too high an asking price only to reduce later, have a much better chance of attracting one of these motivated buyers, and a good local agent will provide sellers with accurate evidence of prices that are being achieved in their area.” 

Last week Halifax reported that house prices had dropped for three consecutive months, and that over the last 12 months it recorded the steepest annual fall since 2011. 

Nationwide reported that house prices rose 0.1% in June compared to the previous month, according to Nationwide’s monthly index. The lender said however that prices are down 3.5% compared to June last year. 

Meanwhile, Zoopla recently reported that annual house price growth had stagnated at 1.2%, but that sales agreed for the first five months of 2023 were broadly in line with the last five years.