The average asking price for a home coming onto the market in Britain fell by £7,360 in August, according to property website Rightmove. The 2.0% month-on-month decline is the largest August fall since 2018, and compares with a 10-year average drop of 1.3% for the month.
Market slowdown and regional divides
The average newly listed asking price now stands at £364,999, which is 1.0% lower than a year earlier – the biggest annual drop since December 2023. Rightmove said the number of homes available for sale is at a 12-year high for this time of year, and combined with the traditionally quiet summer holiday period, this has led to lower price expectations from sellers.
Regional figures show a divided picture. In the North West of England, average asking prices are up 1.9% annually, while London has seen a 3.1% fall.
Rightmove revises forecast and notes buyer activity
Rightmove has downgraded its house price forecast for 2026 from a 2% increase to a change of between zero and a 2% fall in average new seller asking prices over the year as a whole.
Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove, said: “This month’s larger-than-usual August price drop is a sign that many sellers are recognising the reality of the market and pricing much more competitively from day one.” She added: “Buyers have the widest choice of homes for sale at this time of year in more than a decade, so standing out on price for the right reasons is hugely important.”
Although buying activity is still around 10% below last year’s level, Rightmove said it had seen a “mini bounce” in buyer demand since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. However, it said the changing picture for mortgage rates, alongside geopolitical uncertainty and the Budget in October, were creating housing market uncertainty.
Estate agents comment on market conditions
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said: “There’s no denying that London is having a more challenging year than many other parts of the country and affordability is at the heart of it.” He added: “However, I wouldn’t characterise the London market as being in any sort of serious decline. What we’re seeing is a much more price-sensitive market and sellers who acknowledge that are still finding buyers.”
Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent, said: “Although asking prices are not selling prices but often reflect owners’, or agents’, aspirational starting points, these figures help demonstrate how difficult it has become to attract genuine buyers.”
Investor activity and rental trends
A lettings index from property firm Hamptons, for July, indicated that some landlords are seeing opportunities to snap up properties in the slower sales market. It found that 56% of investor offers in July were at least 10% below the initial asking price – rising to 63% among landlords paying in cash. It said 27% of these lower offers from investors were accepted in July 2026, compared with just 18% in July 2025. The analysis of offers used data from the Connells Group and covered England and Wales.
Hamptons also released rental price figures, covering Britain, also using data from Connells Group. The index is based on achieved rather than advertised rents. The average monthly rental price for a newly-let home jumped by 1.9% annually in July, marking the fastest pace of rental growth recorded for new lets in 19 months. The average monthly rent on a newly-let home was £1,401.
David Fell, lead analyst at Hamptons, said: “When the market slows, seasoned investors rarely stand on the sidelines for long.” He added: “With homes taking longer to sell and chains proving fragile, landlords are using their liquidity and chain-free status to maximise their leverage when it comes to agreeing a price.”
Average rental prices per month on newly-let homes and the annual change, according to Hamptons: London £2,308 (0.6%), East of England £1,279 (1.9%), South East £1,507 (2.8%), South West £1,317 (3.7%), East Midlands £1,003 (-0.9%), West Midlands £1,121 (3.3%), North East £865 (1.7%), North West £1,065 (2.7%), Yorkshire and the Humber £958 (2.4%), Wales £888 (4.0%), Scotland £1,064 (-0.2%).
