UK house prices suffer biggest August decline since 2018 - Rightmove

(Sharecast News) - Property portal Rightmove downgraded its forecast on Monday for growth in house prices this year as it reported a drop in August prices. Prices fell 1% on the year following a 0.4% decline in July. This marked the largest annual price fall since December 2023. On the month, prices were down 2% in August following a 1% fall a year earlier. This was the largest August price fall since 2018.

The average price of a home stood at £364,999, versus £372,359 last month.

The figures also revealed an increasingly divided regional picture, with the year-on-year difference between the northern and southern regions of England particularly stark. Prices in the north of England were up by 1.5% versus a year ago, while prices in the south of England were down 1.8%, with the largest decline seen in London, where prices fell 3.1% annually.

Rightmove said the capital is seeing the largest choice of homes since 2010, leading to "fierce" competition among sellers to tempt buyers in the costliest part of the country.

Rightmove downgraded its national average 2026 price growth forecast to between flat and a 2% decline, having previously expected a 2% increase.

Colleen Babcock, 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. 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.

"While no seller likes to come to market lower than they might have hoped, Rightmove analysis shows that those who price realistically are statistically proven to be giving themselves the strongest chance of finding a buyer and successfully completing a move. One tactic some sellers are using when considering lower offers on their home, is to also make a lower offer themselves on their onwards purchase, to see if they can make up the difference."