Financial News: UK House Prices Fall In November: Rightmove

UK House Prices Fall In November: Rightmove

(RTTNews) - UK house prices dropped in November reflecting a usual fall during this time of the year as sellers price more competitively to attract buyers in the lead-up to Christmas, property website Rightmove said Monday.

House prices posted a monthly fall of 1.7 percent in November, in contrast to the 0.5 percent gain in October. Average asking prices totaled GBP 362,143 in November.

Although this year's November fall was the largest in five years, key indicators point to a year that so far has been better than many anticipated, Rightmove said. On a yearly basis, the decline in house prices deepened to 1.3 percent from 0.8 percent in October.

"The larger than usual drop this month signals that among the usual pricing seasonality, we are starting to see more new sellers heed their agents' advice and come to market with more enticing prices to stand out from their over-optimistic competition", Tim Bannister Rightmove's Director of Property Science said.

Higher mortgage rates have reduced affordability of buyers. Sellers now understand that the chances of securing buyers are much greater if they price right the first time, rather than over-pricing and reducing their price later, added Bannister.

The Bank of England has raised the bank rate by a cumulative 515 basis points since December 2021. At the October meeting, the bank left the interest rate unchanged at a 15-year high of 5.25 percent.

Rightmove observed that average asking prices are just 3 percent below May's peak and sales agreed are 10 percent below 2019's more normal market level.

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