Data courtesy of Rightmove.co.uk

Average new seller asking prices drop by 1.4% (-£5,366) this month to £366,592, but up 1.2% year on year, in line with Rightmove’s end-of-year +1% prediction for 2024.

Despite the Budget, market activity remains stronger than last year, with the number of sales being agreed still 26% ahead of the quieter market at this time in 2023 and buyer demand 23% ahead of this time last year, boosted by the second Bank Rate cut.

Since the Budget and subsequent interest rate drop, there has been no obvious spike in sales numbers, although there has been a slight uptick in demand. Decisions are being made now before the buildup to Christmas, as buyers are more likely to get price flexibility from sellers now rather than in the New Year. This presents a good opportunity to negotiate, as there will certainly be more people looking in January after the Christmas break and usual surge in enquiries on Boxing Day. There is some uncertainty following hikes in National Insurance and the minimum wage. There has been a lot of change in the last couple of weeks, so I think time will tell. It’s definitely an interesting time in the market but as we go into 2025 we expect market sentiment to improve further.