UK house prices drop by £6,589 in November ahead of Autumn Budget (Image: Getty)
The average new seller asking price dropped by 1.8% or £6,589 month-on-month in November, according to property website Rightmove.
The figures released by Rightmove show this to be a larger-than-usual November drop, bringing the average price tag on a home entering the market across Britain to £364,833. The website suggested that speculation about the contents of Chancellor Rachel Reeves‘s Autumn Budget is causing uncertainty throughout much of the market, particularly at the higher end. It added that homes priced under £500,000 have been less affected by rumours of potential policy changes.
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The average price for a home coming to market across Britain was £364,833 in November (Image: Getty)
Rightmove said that the average monthly price drop seen in November has been 1.1% over the past decade, and this month’s fall is the largest for this time of year since 2012.
The report revealed that more than a third (34%) of homes available for sale have had an asking price reduction, with the average size of price reduction being 7%. Both figures are the highest since February 2024.
Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove, said: “The decade-high number of homes available on the market continues to restrict price growth, with many new sellers keen to avoid standing out by over-pricing compared with their competition.”
She added: “The Budget is a big distraction, and is later in the year than usual, with many would-be buyers waiting to see how their finances will be impacted.
“It appears that the usual lull we’d see around Christmas time has arrived early this year, and sellers who are keen to move are having to work especially hard to entice buyers with competitive pricing.”
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Matt Smith, a mortgage expert at Rightmove, said: “Home movers can expect some small drops in average mortgage rates to continue over the next few weeks. The Budget has created a lot of uncertainty and has had a big build-up, so once the announcements are out of the way, home movers can focus on planning with more confidence.”
Nick Leeming, chairman of estate agent Jackson-Stops, said: “For prime country houses, it has been a market of two halves in November so far. Whilst some have chosen to wait for clarity after the Budget – whatever news that may bring – others have accelerated their transaction timeframes.”
Bertie Russell, managing director at Russell Simpson in London, added: “We are starting to see more investors and pied-a-terre buyers looking, as well as a larger swathe of US buyers.”
Meanwhile, a report from property firm Hamptons showed that over the 12 months to October, the average monthly cost of a newly-let home in Britain fell by 0.5% to £1,399.
The Budget has created a lot of uncertainty (Image: Getty)
David Fell, lead analyst at Hamptons, noted: “Despite rents falling annually for the third straight month, landlords are still managing to agree above inflation increases when it comes to contract renewals.
“Typically, these are reducing the gap that opened up over the pandemic between what tenants are currently paying, and what the property would achieve if it was re-let to a new tenant.”
For tenants renewing their contracts across Britain, annual rental growth stood at 4.0%, with rents reaching a new record of £1,310 per month, according to Hamptons.
The Hamptons lettings index uses Connells Group data to monitor rental cost changes and relies on actual rather than advertised rents.
The statistics emerged alongside a separate forecast suggesting UK mortgage lending growth will weaken in 2026.
After an anticipated net growth of 3.2% this year, UK mortgage lending is projected to slow in 2026, with 2.8% net growth, as pressured affordability and tightening real incomes trigger a decline in housing demand, the EY Item Club outlook for financial services indicated.
A struggling global economy and diminished real income growth are poised to affect the banking sector in 2026, the report said.
Write-off rates on UK mortgages are predicted to have declined annually in 2025, with the EY Item Club projecting a slight increase in 2026, as certain homeowners on fixed-rate mortgages switch to arrangements with higher mortgage rates.
Martina Keane, EY UK and Ireland financial services leader, said: “The UK economy made a strong start to 2025, but momentum is slowing and we are facing a challenging market.
“Ongoing global uncertainty and the prospect of further domestic tax rises in the upcoming Budget are likely to impact the financial services sector next year. However, our industry is resilient and adaptable, and our fundamentals remain solid. A dip in 2026 is likely to be temporary, and as uncertainty recedes, growth levels across most of the UK financial services sectors will improve over 2027 and 2028.”
