December has seen property prices fall again but predictions are that the market will settle into a more normal pre-pandemic level of activity as 2023 progresses according to Rightmove’s latest House Price Index. Despite Decembers dip, the the long trend still looks good for Property Investors with the average asking price growing by 5.6%

Key highlights from December include..

  • Average price of property coming to market drops by 2.1% (-£7,862) this month, a bigger dip than usual at this time of year as some determined sellers price aggressively to tempt hesitant buyers:
  • Rightmove forecasts that prices will drop by an overall average of 2% next year as a multi-speed hyper-local market emerges, with some locations, property types and sectors faring much better than others
  • The number of views of homes for sale on Rightmove is up 11% compared to this time last year, a sign that there are many potential movers who are monitoring the market in detail and weighing up their options:
  • As mortgage rates settle down, buyer demand over the past two weeks is 4% up on the same period in 2019

The average asking price of newly listed property drops by 2.1% this month (-£7,862) to £359,137. This is a bigger dip in new asking prices than is usual at this time of year, as sellers who are determined to find a buyer quickly adjust their expectations and adapt to a less frenzied housing market.

“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.” Tim Bannister Rightmove’s Director of Property Science

by Rob Stross, Property Investor Media