LONDON (Reuters) -Asking prices for British homes have fallen by more than usual for the time of year ahead of finance minister Rachel Reeves’ budget next week, a survey published on Monday showed.
Average prices for homes put on the market fell by 1.8% in the four weeks to November 8 – the largest drop for the time of year since 2012 – leaving prices 0.5% below their level a year earlier, property website Rightmove said.
The highest number of homes available on the market in a decade was also weighing on prices, Rightmove said.
Other gauges of Britain’s housing market, such as monthly data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, have also pointed to a loss of momentum in the run-up to the November 26 budget, which is expected to include tax rises.
* Rightmove said reductions in asking prices for homesalready on the market were at their highest since February 2024. * Budget speculation was weighing especially on moreexpensive properties with agreed sales of homes worth more than2 million pounds ($2.63 million) down 13% year-on-year. * Sales in 2025 so far remain 4% above same period in 2024. * “The budget is a big distraction, and is later in the yearthan usual, with many would-be buyers waiting to see how theirfinances will be impacted. It appears that the usual lull we’dsee around Christmas time has arrived early this year,” saidRightmove property expert Colleen Babcock.
($1 = 0.7594 pounds)
(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Alexander Smith)
