Changes to stamp duty saw a drop-off in buyer demand
Next year will see the highest rise in house asking prices since 2021, Rightmove has predicted despite the dampening effect of the Budget.
Average new seller asking prices dropped by 1.4% in November to around £366,592.
A seasonal fall around this time of the year is typical, but Rightmove said its magnitude was greater than expected, which it attributed to the “pre- and post-Budget jitters”.
Despite this, the property website said that market activity remained stronger than in 2023 due to a falling Bank of England base rate.
The number of sales agreed was 26% ahead of this time last year and the number of new sellers deciding to come to market was 6% ahead.
Rightmove expects activity to tail off towards Christmas but predicted that average new seller asking prices would rise by 4% in 2025, its highest prediction since 2021.
“There’s been a lot of news to digest for home-movers over the last few weeks and it appears that the market may still be chewing it over,” said Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science
He said there had been a drop-off in buyer demand before and after the Budget, due to increases in stamp-duty for many buyers.
“However, a second Bank Rate cut and a boost of optimism regarding 2025 appear to have reversed this trend at least temporarily,” he continued.
“Zooming out of these short-term trends, the big picture of market activity remains positive when compared to the quieter market at this time last year.
“This sets us up for what we predict will be a stronger 2025 in both prices and number of homes sold, particularly if mortgage rates fall by enough to significantly improve affordability for more of the mass-market.”
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