British property sellers raised their asking prices for the first time since May, according to the latest House Price Index from real estate website Rightmove, published September 21. Average new seller asking prices rose 0.7% (£2,441) between August 9 and September 12, to £367,440 — a larger monthly increase than usual for the time of year, and a reversal from the roughly 2% drop recorded over the preceding four weeks. Asking prices remained 0.8% lower than a year earlier, an improvement on the 1% annual decline reported in Rightmove’s August report.
The rise came even as the number of homes available to buy hit a 12-year high, and buyer enquiries ran 9% below year-earlier levels; new listings fell 3% and agreed sales were down 9%. Homes took an average of 64 days to find a buyer and a further 150 days to complete. The proportion of listed homes finding a buyer stood at 61% nationally, but varied sharply by region — 91% in Scotland and 71% in the North West, against 56% in the South East and just 42% in London.
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, attributed the uptick to buyers and sellers returning to the market after the summer holidays. “September’s above-average price rise is a welcome sign of confidence after a particularly subdued summer, but it should be viewed as a modest recovery rather than a major turning point,” she said, adding that sellers face “stiff competition from a 12-year high number of other homes for sale” and that realistic pricing remains key to attracting buyers. Rightmove mortgage expert Matt Smith said mortgage rate volatility “remains a significant challenge for many,” noting that the average two-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.29% in September from 5.09% in August.
Looking ahead, Rightmove framed the increase as part of a potential “autumn bounce” in buyer activity rather than a durable shift, with Babcock cautioning that the large pool of homes for sale means sellers who price realistically, rather than relying on what a property might have fetched in previous years, stand the best chance of securing a sale.
References
The Business Times – UK Property Asking Prices Rise for First Time Since May: Rightmove / The Intermediary – Asking Prices Up 0.7% in September – Rightmove
