The asking price for properties has fallen in the South West region, according to Rightmove. Experts at the property website say that in August, the average asking price in the region was £389,064 - a fall of 0.6 per cent compared to July.
This reflected a general national trend, with prices dropping by 1.3 per cent month-on-month across the country. However, asking prices in the South West are actually up 11 per cent compared to this time last year. And according to Rightmove, a drop can usually be expected in August.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science, explains: "A drop in asking prices is to be expected this month, as the market returns towards normal seasonal patterns after a frenzied two years, and many would-be home movers become distracted by the summer holidays. Indeed, for those that can, this may be their first summer holiday abroad since before the pandemic.
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"Sellers who want or need to move quickly at this time of year tend to price competitively in order to find a suitable buyer fast, with some hoping to complete their move in time to enjoy Christmas in a new home. To achieve that this year, they’d need to beat the current average time between accepting an offer and completing the sale of four and a half months.
"Nevertheless, we’re still expecting price changes for the rest of the year to continue to follow the usual seasonal pattern, which means we’ll end year at around seven per cent annual growth, even with the wider economic uncertainty.”
Rightmove has advice for buyers and homeowners, as they say that demand is continuing to outstrip supply. According to their data, national buyer demand this month is down four per cent on 2021, but is still 20 per cent higher than in 2019.
And the number of new listings coming to market is up 12 per cent on the same period last year, though it is 6 per cent down on 2019, while available homes for sale are down 39 per cent on 2019. Meanwhile, houses in the South West sold quicker than in any other part of the country in August, finding a buyer in just 29 days.
Mr Bannister added: "Several indicators point to activity in the market continuing to cool from the lofty heights of the last two years. It’s likely that the impact of interest rate rises will gradually filter through during the rest of the year, but right now the data shows that they are not having a significant impact on the number of people wanting to move.
"Demand has eased a degree and there is now more choice for buyers, but the two remain at odds and the size of this imbalance will prevent major price falls this year. For those looking to move who are concerned about interest rate rises, it’s important that they get a mortgage in principle early on in their moving journey to understand what they could afford to borrow, and find out about the rates available to them to assess what they are able to repay each month.”
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