Asking prices for UK homes drop but July sales hit 5-year high

New Straits Times

3 days ago

LONDON: Asking prices for newly advertised British houses and apartments fell in the four weeks to mid-August but the drop was less notable than in the previous two months and sales in July were their highest for the time of year since 2020, a survey showed.
Property website Rightmove said on Monday prices for homes put on sale between July 13 and August 9 dropped by 1.3 per cent from the previous four weeks, in line with the normal mid-summer fall in prices.
Asking prices had shown unusually big declines for the time of year in the previous two four-week periods.
In annual terms, prices were up by 0.3 per cent, Rightmove said.
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove's property expert, said sellers were competing more on price. The number of sales agreed in July was the highest for the month since 2020 when demand for bigger homes was unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic and government tax breaks.
However, the number of available homes for sale again grew by more than the increase in sales during July, keeping the volume of homes for sale at a decade high. A third of homes on sale were cut in price while on the market, the second-highest proportion for the time of year in data going back to 2012.
Babcock said this month's interest rate cut by the Bank of England - its fifth since August 2024 - was unlikely to push down mortgage costs much further but could encourage buyers.
Two-year fixed-rate mortgage rates have fallen to 4.49 per cent from 5.17 per cent a year ago.
Last week, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said Britain's housing market recovery lost steam at the fastest pace in a year in July and some buyers were worried about possible tax increases in finance minister Rachel Reeves' next budget.