Asking prices for UK homes recorded the biggest November decline in five years as more sellers accepted the reality of finding buyers in a credit-constrained market, according to Rightmove.
The 1.7% drop, the biggest for the month since November 2018, lopped more than £6,000 ($7,320) from the value of property being offered for sale, the listings portal said in a report Monday.
It left the average asking price at £362,143, the lowest since the end of last year. The number of sales agreed was 10% below the same time in 2019.
“The larger-than-usual drop this month signals that among the usual pricing seasonality, we are starting to see more new sellers heed their agents’ advice and come to market with more enticing prices to stand out from their over-optimistic competition,” said Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science. “Buyers are still out there, but for many their affordability is much reduced due to higher mortgage rates.”
Despite easing in recent months, interest rates on mortgages are more than triple their level in early 2022, limiting the amount buyers are able to borrow. Many existing homeowners will feel the pain in 2024, when UK Finance says 1.6 million fixed-rate deals are due to expire.
Discounting among sellers was most pronounced in southern England, with asking prices falling 2.1% in London and 3% in the South East — the regions with the most expensive property.
Nevertheless, Rightmove said the housing market had held up reasonably well, with prices nationally just 3% below their peak in May and no signs of widespread forced selling. That may reflect a resilient labor market, where unemployment remains low and redundancies limited.
