House prices fall in November - Rightmove

UK house prices fell sharply in November, industry data showed on Monday, as sellers trimmed expectations to secure sales.

According to the latest house price index from Rightmove, the average new selling asking price dropped 1.7% in November to £362,143. It was the steepest November drop since 2018.

Annually, prices fell 1.3%.

That compares to a 0.5% monthly uptick in October, and 0.8% fall year-on-year.

Rightmove said that with Christmas now approaching, sellers were cutting prices as they look to attracted cash-strapped buyers.

Agreed sales were 10% below 2019’s pre-pandemic market, although that is an improvement on October, when agreed sales were 15% below 2019.

Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove, said: "We’d expect to see a drop in new seller asking prices in the last couple of the months of the year, as serious sellers start to cut through the Christmas noise with an attractive price to secure a buyer.

"However, the larger-than-usual drop this month signals that among the usual pricing seasonality, we are starting to see more new sellers come to market with more enticing prices.

"Buyers are still out there, but for many their affordability is much reduced due to higher mortgage rates."

The Bank of England has increased interest rates 14 times since December 2021, and they now stand at a 15-year high of 5.25%.

However, the Monetary Policy Committee left the cost of borrowing on hold for the last two meetings, prompting speculation that the current rate tightening cycle may be coming to an end.

The November house price index also showed that the pandemic-driven stock shortage appeared to be over, with available properties for sale now just 1% behind 2019.

Rightmove surveyed houses put up for sale by estate agents on its portal between 8 October and 4 November.