Record fall in July UK property prices: Rightmove
Prices for property put on sale during Rightmove's July period - which runs from June 8 to July 12 - were 1.2 per cent lower than for property marketed a month earlier, the biggest June to July drop since the series began in late 2001.
Compared with a year ago, asking prices were 0.1 per cent higher.
'With the number of available homes still at a decade-high level, summer sellers are pricing even more competitively to attract buyer interest,' Rightmove said.
British property sales surged earlier this year but then fell sharply after the end of a temporary tax break on many purchases in April.
'Discerning buyers can quickly spot when a home looks over-priced compared to the many others that may be available in their area,' Rightmove property expert Colleen Babcock said.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights
Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.
Sign Up
Sign Up
While sales volumes are still running at around 5 per cent above 2024 levels, Rightmove said it was cutting its forecast for price rises over 2025 as a whole to 2 per cent from 4 per cent due to the high level of competition between sellers. Overall, Rightmove expects 1.15 million property sales in 2025.
Prices fell most in inner London, which saw a 2.1 per cent monthly drop, while the biggest rise was in north-east England where there was a 1.2 per cent rise.
Earlier this month Nationwide Building Society, Britain's second-biggest mortgage lender, said its house price index dropped by 0.8 per cent in June, the biggest seasonally adjusted monthly fall since November 2022.
Official data, which is based on completed purchases, showed that house prices in May were 3.9 per cent higher than a year earlier, down sharply from annual growth of 7.0 per cent in March.
Rightmove said smaller price rises, combined with strong pay growth and lower mortgage rates, were making property purchases more affordable.
Typical mortgage rates for a two-year fixed period have dropped to 4.53 per cent from 5.34 per cent over the past year, while average wages rose 5.0 per cent in the year to May. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Australia, Britain sign 50-year AUKUS submarine partnership treaty
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles, Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey speak to media at Admiralty House during the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) in Sydney, Australia July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Kirsty Needham/File Photo SYDNEY - Australia's government said on Saturday it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership. The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced a formal review of the pact this year. Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state. "The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines," the statement said. The treaty was a "commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defence cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I", it said, adding that it built on the "strong foundation" of trilateral AUKUS cooperation. Britain's ministry of defence said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies' submarine programmes and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds ($27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years. AUKUS is Australia's biggest-ever defence project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades to the programme, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the U.S. production base. Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the U.S. in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed. The defence and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia's largest war games. As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia's military has said are a rehearsal for joint warfare to maintain Indo-Pacific stability. Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales taking part this year. REUTERS
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Straits Times
China's Premier Li proposes global AI cooperation organisation
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: China's Premier Li Qiang, delivers his speech at the ASEAN - Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - China Economic Forum official dinner on the sidelines of the 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Vincent Thian/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo SHANGHAI - Chinese Premier Li Qiang proposed on Saturday establishing a world artificial intelligence cooperation organisation, calling on countries to coordinate development and security of the fast-evolving technology. Speaking at the opening of the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Li called AI a new engine for growth but said governance is fragmented and emphasised the need to step up coordination between countries to form a globally recognised framework for AI. The three-day event brings together industry leaders and policymakers at a time of escalating technological competition between China and the U.S., with AI emerging as a key battleground between the world's two largest economies. Washington has imposed export restrictions on advanced technology to China, including AI chips and chipmaking equipment, citing concerns the technology could enhance China's military capabilities. Despite these restrictions, China has continued making AI breakthroughs that have drawn close scrutiny from U.S. officials. Li said AI technologies were rapidly evolving but that there were constraints, such as the lack of high-end computing chips and restrictions on talent exchange. He called for breaking through bottlenecks for open and coordinated innovation. REUTERS
Business Times
10 hours ago
- Business Times
Trump arrives in Scotland for golf and bilateral talks as EU trade deal nears
[EDINBURGH/LONDON] US President Donald Trump, dogged by questions about his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, arrived in Scotland on Friday (Jul 25) for some golf and bilateral talks that could yield a trade deal with the European Union. Trump told reporters upon his arrival that he will visit his two golf properties in Scotland and meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whom he called a 'highly respected woman'. As hundreds of onlookers cheered his arrival, Trump repeated his earlier comment about a 50-50 chance of securing a deal with the EU, adding it would be his administration's biggest trade agreement thus far, if it came together. However, he said there were still 'sticking points' with Brussels on 'maybe 20 different things'. Trump said his meeting with Starmer would be more of a celebration of the trade deal already reached than continued work on it, adding: 'It's a great deal for both.' Before he left Washington, Trump said his administration was working hard on a possible trade deal with the EU, and Brussels was keen to make a deal. Von der Leyen said later she would meet Trump in Scotland on Sunday. EU diplomats say a deal could result in a 15 per cent tariff on EU goods, mirroring a framework accord with Japan reached this week and half of the 30 per cent Trump is threatening to impose by Aug 1. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Trump has sought to reorder the global economy after imposing a 10 per cent tariff on nearly all trading partners in April and threatening sharply higher rates for many countries to kick in a week from now. Trump says the moves will reduce the US trade deficit and bring in extra revenue, but economists warn the new trade policies could drive up inflation. 'Don't talk about Trump' Trump, facing the biggest domestic political crisis of his second term, expressed frustration about ongoing questions about his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and his 2019 death in prison. 'You make it a very big thing over something that's not a big thing,' Trump told reporters in Scotland, urging them to focus on other prominent Americans with ties to Epstein, including former president Bill Clinton. 'Talk about Clinton. Talk about the former president of Harvard. Talk about all of his friends. Talk about the hedge fund guys that were with him all the time. Don't talk about Trump,' he said. 'What you should be talking about is the fact that we have the greatest six months in the history of a presidency.' The Epstein issue has caused a rare breach with some of Trump's most loyal Make America Great Again supporters, and majorities of Americans and Trump's Republicans say they believe the government is hiding details on the case, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. White House officials are hoping the controversy dies down while Trump is abroad, two sources familiar with the matter said. Deepen ties Trump will stay at his Turnberry property on Scotland's west coast this weekend, before travelling on Monday to a golf property in Aberdeen, where he will open a second 18-hole course named in honour of his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod. MacLeod was born and raised on a Scottish island before emigrating to the US. As he left the White House, Trump said he looked forward to meeting both Starmer and Scottish leader John Swinney, who had publicly backed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election. The trip gives Trump and Starmer a chance to deepen their already warm ties, with key issues on the agenda to include ending Russia's war in Ukraine, British and US sources said. The deteriorating situation in Gaza is also likely to come up. Starmer on Thursday said he would hold an emergency call with France and Germany over what he called the 'unspeakable and indefensible' suffering and starvation being reported there, and called on Israel to allow aid to enter the Palestinian enclave. Gaza health authorities say more than 100 people have died from starvation, most in recent weeks. Human rights groups have said mass starvation is spreading even as tons of food and other supplies sit untouched just outside the territory. Since being elected last year, Starmer has prioritised good relations with Trump, stressing the importance of Britain's defence and security alliance with the US, while working to clinch the first tariff-reduction deal with the US in May. The framework agreement reaffirmed quotas and tariff rates on British automobiles and eliminated tariffs on the UK's aerospace sector, but left steel tariffs in place. Starmer is expected to press for lower steel tariffs, but sources close to the matter said it was unclear if any breakthrough was possible during Trump's visit. Trump has described Scotland as a 'very special place' and made a similar trip there in 2016 during his earlier run for the presidency, but he will not necessarily get a warm welcome. About 70 per cent of Scots have an unfavourable opinion of Trump, while 18 per cent have a favourable opinion, an Ipsos poll in March found. Scottish police are girding for protests on Saturday in both Aberdeen and in Edinburgh, the country's capital. Trump will return to Britain from Sep 17 to 19 for a state visit hosted by King Charles. It will make Trump the first world leader in modern times to undertake two state visits to Britain. The late Queen Elizabeth hosted him at Buckingham Palace for a three-day state visit in June 2019. REUTERS
