Average new seller asking prices rose by 0.5% (+£1,950) this month to £368,231 while London saw prices up by 2.1%, according to Rightmove’s latest data.
Although newly advertised property prices typically rise at this time of year, this is the smallest increase in Rightmove’s October report since 2008. The portal says buyers are still actively searching for the right property at the right price, with the number of buyers enquiring to each available home for sale is still 8% higher than at the same time in pre- pandemic 2019. Rightmove adds that accurately priced properties succeed in finding a buyer in less than half the time that it takes those that need a reduction, and when they do find a buyer, the sale is also 50% less likely to fall through.
A more stable mortgage market is providing some home-movers with more confidence about what they are likely to be able to afford, even with rates remaining well above the ultra-low levels of recent years. The average twoyear fixed rate is below 6% for the first time since June, and average twoyear and five-year mortgage rates are both now lower than at this time last year during the post-mini-Budget period. In the last year, the average house price to earnings ratio has also decreased by close to 10%, meaning that buyer affordability, while still stretched, has improved compared to this time last year.
Meanwhile, average fixed mortgage rates continue to trend downwards and have now fallen for 11 consecutive weeks, with the average five-year fixed rate dropping from 6.08% to the current 5.43% over that period. The cheapest available rates in some Loan- To-Value (LTV) brackets are now below 5%, with rates in other LTV’s edging closer to sub-5%.