The average price tag on a home in September saw a modest increase of just over £1,500 month-on-month as the autumn selling season kicked off, according to property website Rightmove.
Across the UK, the typical new seller’s asking price in September was £370,257, marking a monthly rise of 0.4% or £1,517. Despite this uptick in prices—the first since May—the average asking price for a home in Britain is still 0.1% or £502 lower than it was a year ago, Rightmove said.
The property website added that the first annual price drop since January 2024 is the result of several months of competitive pricing by new sellers over the summer, with the number of sales agreed to now being 4% higher than a year earlier. London and the more subdued South of England are driving the annual dip in prices, while other areas of Britain are showing more resilience, according to the report.
The report highlighted that asking prices have fallen by 1.3% in the South West of England compared with last year, while in the North West, they have risen by 3.2%.
Sellers in the South of England are facing stiff competition. The number of homes for sale in this region has increased by 9% compared to this time last year, in contrast to a 2% rise across the rest of Britain, it added.
On average, it takes five days longer to find a buyer in the South of England than in the North and Wales. However, the report concluded that sales in the South are still higher than a year ago, indicating that buyers are willing to snap up homes at the right price.
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: “We’d expect to see a slight uptick in new seller asking prices in September, with the traditional back-to-school season boosting activity heading into autumn.
“This year’s 0.4% September price rise is a little lower than the norm, which is an average of 0.6% at this time of year. However, prices have now dipped slightly from where they were at this time last year after a summer of competitive pricing by sellers, and it’s the South of England which is driving this small dip.
“It’s the sensible and attractive seller pricing we’ve been reporting which has been helping to drive more sales activity compared to last year. Static house prices, rising wages, and lower mortgage rates all assist buyer affordability, which has led to an increase in the number of sales agreed compared to a year ago.”
Ms Babcock added: “Rumours of property tax changes began swirling in mid-August, and with the Budget itself not arriving until the end of November, this kind of extended uncertainty can affect market activity, especially in the higher price brackets.
“Movers want to be confident in planning their moving costs. Our real-time data has not yet picked up any major shifts, however, it’s understandable that those who could be negatively affected by the rumoured changes might be in the process of reassessing their short- and medium-term plans.”
Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert, said: “Mortgage rates have edged upwards over the last few weeks as global events have made mortgage financing a little more expensive. Inflation is also proving sticky.”
He added: “The rhetoric around mortgages continues to be about how lenders can unlock greater affordability by allowing people to responsibly borrow more, which is encouraging for the market, particularly first-time buyers.”
Another property expert, Matt Giggs, founder of the Giggs Group in Cambridgeshire, remarked: “Sellers who reduced their price expectations over the summer are now creating more realistic conditions for sales, which is keeping things moving.
“We’re finding that well-presented, competitively priced homes are still attracting strong interest, and the high choice of homes for sale is also encouraging buyers.
“In Cambridgeshire, we’re seeing a steady market and aren’t feeling some of the drag that may be more apparent in London or further south.
“However, uncertainty around the Budget doesn’t help movers’ confidence, particularly those looking at higher-value homes. These buyers might be more hesitant to act until there’s clarity.”
Matt Thompson, head of sales at estate agent Chestertons in London, said: “Over the past months, the dynamics of London’s property market have changed, with some boroughs not experiencing the activity or price growth traditionally associated with a world capital such as London. While this has required buyers and sellers to adjust their approach, it has also created opportunities and enabled some house hunters to find properties that were previously outside their budget.
“After the summer holidays, we’ve already registered an uplift in inquiries from house hunters who are keen to proceed with their property purchase now as they believe the current market climate to be a temporary window of opportunity.
“Other buyers feel that they will have more clarity after the autumn Budget which could then boost buyer confidence and fuel a sellers’ market sentiment towards the end of the year.”
The data emerged as a separate study from property firm Hamptons revealed that across Britain, newly agreed rents dropped by 0.4% annually in August – equivalent to a decrease of approximately £6 per month.
The typical monthly rent on a freshly let property in August stood at £1,387. Despite the recent downturn, rental costs have surged ahead of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation over both the previous five and 10 years, Hamptons noted.
If rents had followed inflation over the past five years, the average tenant would currently be paying £1,308 per month typically – saving roughly £950 annually, it calculated.
Looking at a 10-year timeframe, rents would sit at £1,253 per month if they had mirrored inflation, representing an average annual saving of more than £1,600, the research suggested. Whilst the supply of available rental properties has remained below 2019 figures for most of the past five years, this divide is beginning to close, Hamptons revealed.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “After several years of rapid rental growth, the tide is finally turning.”
She added: “Over the longer term, rents have consistently outpaced inflation, which means tenants today are paying more than they would have if rents had simply tracked CPI.
“For the most part, this has mirrored the rising cost pressures facing landlords. But this recent slowdown suggests the market is recalibrating. With affordability stretched and demand softening, landlords are having to adjust to attract tenants.”
The Hamptons lettings index utilises data from the Connells Group to monitor changes to rental costs. It is founded on actual rather than advertised rents.