Budget jitters weigh heavily as house prices slide - Rightmove

(Sharecast News) - House prices fell in November, industry data published on Monday showed, as the spike in supply and mounting uncertainty around the Budget weighed heavily.

According to Rightmove, average new seller asking prices fell 1.8%, a larger-than-usual decline for the time of year. It also reversed October's 0.3% uptick.

Year-on-year, prices were 0.5% lower, leaving the national average asking price at £364,833.

Agreed sales in the year-to-date rose 4%.

The supply of houses coming to market - which had long lagged demand - has surged this year, giving buyers more power and depressing prices. However, the Budget was also proving a "distraction", Rightmove said.

It found sales agreed for homes priced at £2m and above had fallen sharply, down 13% year-on-year.

Speculation is rife that £2m-plus house sales could be subject to a new mansion tax, while other reports have mooted possible changes to stamp duty, which would affect homes sold for between £500,000 and £2m.

Rightmove's Collen Babcock said: "The Budget is a big distraction, and is later in the year than usual, with many would-be buyers waiting to see how their finances will be impacted.

"It appears the usual lull we'd see around Christmas time has arrived early this year, and sellers who are keen to move are having to work especially hard to entice buyers with competitive pricing."