Proactive Investors - UK house sellers are cutting their asking prices at the fastest rate in more than a decade, after high interest rates dampened demand for property this summer.
The proportion of homes on the market which have had at least one price reduction is at its highest level since January 2011, the property website Rightmove has reported.
According to Rightmove, more than 36% of properties on the market have had their asking price reduced at least once, compared with the pre-pandemic average of 31.2%, as sellers tried to attract offers.
The increase is due to a combination of interest rate rises and lower activity in the housing market because of the summer holidays, Rightmove said, with the number of new properties coming up for sale in August being 6% lower than the 10-year average.
The Rightmove House Price Index showed the average new seller asking price increased by 0.4% month-on-month, or £1,386, in September to £366,281. This was "lower than is usual" for this time of year, the property portal noted.
On an annual basis, prices fell 0.4% in September. Rightmove said this was the biggest drop in prices since March 2019 and meant prices are still on track to meet its prediction of a 2% fall over the year as a whole.