Rightmove: July saw the largest decline in average asking prices in more than two decades

Since summer sellers are using competitive pricing to draw in buyers, the average asking price of a property in the UK dropped by 12 percent in July

According to Rightmove, asking prices for UK real estate dropped 1.2 percent in July, bringing the average down to 373,709. Thats 4,531 less than they were a month ago, and just 0.1 percent higher than they were a year ago.

The firm has over 20 years of data to examine, and while a seasonal decline in average asking prices is common in July due to the traditional summer holiday season, this July decline is the largest ever.

According to Rightmove, the sharp decline suggests that sellers are luring buyers with more attractive offers, even though it could also be interpreted as a sign that the housing market is slowing down.

In an effort to draw in buyers this summer, sellers are lowering asking prices, and the number of homes on the market is at its highest level in ten years.

According to the data, this strategy is effective. Since agreed-upon sales are 5% higher than the previous year, it is clear that competitive and reasonable pricing is essential to closing a deal.

Buyers have "significant property choice and availability, which is allowing them to be uncompromising on their criteria and expectations," according to Phillip Bishop, managing director of real estate firm Perry Bishop.

With so many options, he continues, "buyers are seeing more and taking their time before making a decision, and the serious and motivated sellers are pricing sensibly and getting success."

Additionally, overall affordability has improved since this time last year.

Average wage growth has outstripped both inflation and house price growth while mortgages have become cheaper as the Bank of England continued to gradually lower interest rates this year.

Rightmove reports that the average two-year fixed mortgage rate is 4.53 percent, which is significantly lower than the 5.34 percent it was last year. This results in savings of almost £150 per month on a typical new mortgage.

The markets anticipate that the Monetary Policy Committee of the central bank will lower interest rates twice more this year, which could spur additional activity in the real estate market.

We are currently "observing an intriguing relationship between pricing and activity levels," according to Colleen Babcock, a property specialist at Rightmove.

According to her, the "decade-high level of buyer choice" means that buyers can quickly determine when a home appears overpriced in comparison to others, and the "healthy and improving level of property sales" indicates that buyers are motivated to close deals.

In order to attract buyers and sell their house, she continues, "it seems that more new sellers are aware of this and are responding to this high-supply market with standout pricing."

The latest data also shows that after stamp duty hikes that took effect in April, the real estate market is stabilizing.

The market "is witnessing a steady return to normalcy following stamp duty threshold changes for those living in England and Northern Ireland at the start of April," according to Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark.

He went on to say that despite this year's housing market disruptions, "it is encouraging to see yet more resilience in house prices year on year."

With a more competitive market limiting price growth, Rightmove has lowered their 2025 house price forecast from a 4% growth rate to just 2% growth as of the second half of the year.

Which UK regions are seeing the biggest drops in asking prices?

In July, the typical asking price for a London real estate property dropped once more.

According to Rightmove, asking prices in Greater London dropped by 1 percent this month, while the prime inner London real estate market saw an even bigger decline of 2 percent.

The capital's asking prices are 1 percent lower now than they were a year ago, which is significantly less than the 0 percent growth that the national average has experienced.

Although asking prices declined most significantly in London this month, this was by no means the only area to experience this trend.

Asking prices in the South East saw the second-largest regional decline, falling 1.2 percent month over month while still increasing 0.2 percent year over year.

On the month, asking prices decreased by 1 point 2 percent in the North West and 1 point 1 percent in the South West.

With the exception of the North East and East Midlands, average asking prices decreased in every UK region.

While asking prices in the North East increased by 1.2 percent from the previous month and 2 percent from the previous year, prices in the East Midlands stayed unchanged in July, changing by 0 percent.