Rightmove Reports Asking Prices Down 2.1%

The Rightmove House Price Index released today reports a -2.1% drop in monthly asking prices whilst there has been a +6% increase in new sellers coming to the market.

The drop in asking prices of 2.1% (-£7,862) is bigger than usual for this period with Rightmove interpreting this as sellers pushing to attract buyers.  The year ends, however, with Rightmove showing that prices are still up 5.6% on twelve months ago, against a 6.3% jump in the same period of 2021.

It is interesting that they say that the number of views on their platform is up 11% compared to last year, so there appears to still be appetite from people to move and perhaps, biding their time.

Tim Bannister Rightmove’s Director of Property Science says “Though we would always expect prices to drop in December, as motivated sellers try to capture the attention of a buyer before Christmas with a competitive price, this monthly dip is the largest we’ve seen for four years. It‘s an understandable short-term reaction to the economic turmoil and unexpectedly rapid mortgage rate rises and reduction in availability of mortgage products that we saw in late September and October, before things began to settle down. Despite this we end the year with average asking price growth of 5.6%, which is only slightly lower than the 6.3% last year.”

Bannister continues “It’s understandable that some buyers are distracted, not only by the festive season, but also by the thought that they may get a better fixed-rate mortgage deal and a more stable outlook by waiting until the new year.  Our data suggests that there are many ready-to-go movers out there waiting for what they feel to be the right time to enter the market in 2023.  We’d usually see a jump in home-mover activity in January, but it takes a while at the start of the year for any significant price changes to feed through, so we’ll be waiting for a potential bounce back in prices in February, which will be a very important leading indicator for the spring moving season.”

Of course, we must reflect on this reported drop, whilst large, is related to asking prices and not selling prices. Consequently, this may be a reflection of sellers having to work harder to attract cautious buyers whom otherwise may wait until the New Year.  What seems to be encouraging is the significant increase in people browsing for property and we hope this bodes well for the Spring marketplace.  You can find out more about Developer Money Market services via our YouTube Channel here or give us a call on 0207 096 2003 for an informal chat.

You can read the full Rightmove House Price Index here or you can contact us here.