Source: Sharecast
According to Rightmove, the average price of a property coming to the market for sale fell 1.2% in July, to £373,709, following a 0.3% softening in June.
The slide – the biggest monthly drop recorded for July since Rightmove began collating data in 2001 – was attributed to an ongoing jump in the amount of homes coming to market.
“With the number of available homes still at a decade-high level, summer sellers are pricing even more competitively to attract buyer interest,” Rightmove noted.
London saw the biggest regional drop, down 1.5%. In contrast, the north east – the UK’s least expensive region for house buyers – saw a 1.2% uplift in prices.
Agreed sales were up 5% year-on-year, the highest for the time of year since 2021, while the number of potential future buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale was up 6%.
Rightmove’s Colleen Babcock said: “We’re seeing an interesting dynamic between pricing and activity levels right now.
“The healthy and improving level of property sales being agreed shows there are motivated buyers willing to finalise a deal for the right property.”
Rightmove said supply was expected to outstrip demand in the coming months, prompting it to cut its forecast for house price growth for 2025 to 2% from 4%.
Babcock said: “There will still very likely be the usual quieter seasonal periods around the summer holidays and Christmas, but we expect market activity to continue to be resilient.
“Crucially, buyer affordability is heading in the right direction, and another two Bank Rate cuts before 2026 would be a big boost to this.”
The Bank of England has cut interest rates twice this year, to 4.25%, and is widely expected to trim once again when it next meets, in August.
Rightmove’s July period runs from 8 June to 12 July.