In the four weeks to 9 November, the number of sellers fell by almost 15% compared with the same period last year and is the biggest annual fall since August 2009. Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, speculates that sellers may be put off by a combination of Brexit and a general election; something that’s “obviously a new combination … for many thousands of buyers and sellers”. Many owners may be waiting to see what, if anything, happens to stamp duty after the election.
The average asking price of a home in the UK has risen by 0.3%, compared with a fall of 0.2% in the previous month. But with wages rising at 3.6%, says the Office for National Statistics, and consumer price inflation running at 1.5%, affordability continues to increase and the risk of a catastrophic house price crash subsides.
Just one region saw asking prices rise in the last month – the East Midlands registered a rise of 0.3%.
On an annual basis, London house prices are among the country’s biggest fallers – the average asking price of a home in Greater London fell by 0.8% in the last year to £609,506. The top end of the market is bearing the brunt of the falls, with a 5.4% monthly slide and a 3.7% annual fall.
The biggest annual fall was in the East of England region, where the average asking price fell by 1.1% in a year to £346,981. Sellers in Yorkshire and the Humber, while seeing a monthly fall of 1.3%, have seen the biggest annual rise at 3.1%, with the average asking price now £192,808.