Over £6,000 wiped off average house price in last four weeks
The average price of a home coming on the market fell by more than £6,000, over the last four-week period, according to a property website.
Across Britain, average asking prices by new sellers dropped by 1.7% during the course of a month to reach £362,143, Rightmove said.
While asking prices do usually record a fall at this time of year, this is the biggest percentage drop recorded for the month of November in five years, the report said.
Rightmove said the fall indicates that new sellers are increasingly adopting more realistic price expectations from the outset of their marketing, to tempt potential buyers.
Consistent rate rises from the Bank of England which have led to higher borrowing rates have been blamed for a slowdown in the housing market over the last year.
However, the central bank’s recent decision to keep interest rates at a record 15 year high of 5.25 per cent, following months of hikes, has provided some relief for the sector.
A number of lenders have also been cutting the prices of their mortgage deals, with Nationwide launching its first two-year fixed mortgage below five per cent since June.
Rightmove said that sales agreed on homes are now 10 per cent below 2019’s more normal market level, improving from 15 per cent below last month.
The number of sales being agreed for studio, one-, and two-bed properties is just seven per cent lower than 2019’s level, compared to four-bed detached houses and all five-bed plus properties, where agreed sales are 14 per cent behind pre-pandemic levels.
Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove said: “Despite the turbulent end to 2022, the year to date has been better than many expected.
“Asking prices have eased from the unsustainably frothy heights seen during the pandemic markets, where many sales went to best and final bids.”
He added: “However, new seller asking prices are now just three per cent behind May’s peak and this relatively small fall in asking prices, coupled with stable numbers of new properties coming to the market each month, are strong indicators that forced sales are not widespread.”
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said he expects prices and sales volumes to “bottom out” next year as the economic backdrop stabilises.
He said: “Sales volumes will improve as buyers get used to higher rates and sellers become accustomed to lower asking prices.
“The story of this slowdown is a double-digit fall in transactions rather than a dramatic price correction, which has been kept in check by weak supply. Unlike the pandemic or mini-Budget, there is no single reason that activity is weak.”
He added: “Higher rates, the prospect of a general election, overseas conflict and ambiguity over when the bank rate will peak are all sapping sentiment.”