House prices dip in December - Rightmove

(Sharecast News) - The UK housing market showed tentative signs of stabilising in December, industry research suggested on Monday, despite a further slide in house prices. According to the latest Rightmove House Price Index, house prices fell by 1.9% this month. Prices normally dip in December, due to seasonal factors, but this year's fall was more than the previous 20-year average of a 1.5% decline.

Year-on-year, prices were just 1.1% lower, however.

The average asking price is now £355,177.

Rightmove said sellers were becoming more competitive with pricing as they looked to get homes sold in a "challenging" market.

But it also noted signs of more stable market conditions, as the market slowly shifted from "frenzy to normality", which should see more family movers returns. Many families shelved plans to move to bigger homes after last year's disastrous mini-budget sent mortgage rates soaring.

The number of agreed sales was down 13% on the same period last year, which Rightmove said was better-than-expected given that the 2022 market was "much more frenetic".

Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove, said: "We entered this year under a cloud of uncertainty, as the fallout from the autumn mini-budget filtered through to lower activity levels.

"High mortgage rates, which have added to already-stretched buyer affordability, have been a challenge throughout 2023, and this is likely to carry into next year.

"However, for now there appears to be more calm and certainty heading into 2024, and the annual fall of 1.1% in asking prices highlights the market's much better-than-predicted resilience this year."

Average mortgage rates have been falling for the last four months, with the average 5-year fixed mortgage rate now 5.11%, compared to 6.11% in July.