Cautious buyers lured with pre-Christmas price drops

Asking prices have dropped 1.7% this month to an average of £302,023, marking the largest November drop since 2012, with the South East leading the way at a 2.1% decline. The price of newly marketed property across the UK is 0.2% cheaper than it was 12 months ago — the first national year-on-year price fall since November 2011. In Scotland, average asking prices are down by 1.3% month-on-month, while in Wales they have fallen by 1.2% . However the lowering of prices has signalled a slight uptick in activity, with a 1% year-on-year rise in the number of November sales. While prices typically edge down ahead of the Christmas period, Rightmove, which compiled the figures, said the data signals a higher-than-usual drop as sellers lower their demands in a bid to lure in cautious buyers amid Brexit uncertainty and wage stagnation. Rightmove also found that the average property took 61 days to sell, up from 56 days earlier this year, while the number of properties on the books of the average estate agent is 52, compared with 42-47 earlier this year.

Source:   City AM   The Times   The Guardian   Daily Mai    Daily Express (19/11/2018)