Record fall in July UK property prices: Rightmove
Prices for property put on sale during Rightmove's July period - which runs from June 8 to July 12 - were 1.2 per cent lower than for property marketed a month earlier, the biggest June to July drop since the series began in late 2001.
Compared with a year ago, asking prices were 0.1 per cent higher.
'With the number of available homes still at a decade-high level, summer sellers are pricing even more competitively to attract buyer interest,' Rightmove said.
British property sales surged earlier this year but then fell sharply after the end of a temporary tax break on many purchases in April.
'Discerning buyers can quickly spot when a home looks over-priced compared to the many others that may be available in their area,' Rightmove property expert Colleen Babcock said.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights
Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.
Sign Up
Sign Up
While sales volumes are still running at around 5 per cent above 2024 levels, Rightmove said it was cutting its forecast for price rises over 2025 as a whole to 2 per cent from 4 per cent due to the high level of competition between sellers. Overall, Rightmove expects 1.15 million property sales in 2025.
Prices fell most in inner London, which saw a 2.1 per cent monthly drop, while the biggest rise was in north-east England where there was a 1.2 per cent rise.
Earlier this month Nationwide Building Society, Britain's second-biggest mortgage lender, said its house price index dropped by 0.8 per cent in June, the biggest seasonally adjusted monthly fall since November 2022.
Official data, which is based on completed purchases, showed that house prices in May were 3.9 per cent higher than a year earlier, down sharply from annual growth of 7.0 per cent in March.
Rightmove said smaller price rises, combined with strong pay growth and lower mortgage rates, were making property purchases more affordable.
Typical mortgage rates for a two-year fixed period have dropped to 4.53 per cent from 5.34 per cent over the past year, while average wages rose 5.0 per cent in the year to May. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
UK retailers demand return of tax-free shopping in tourism plan
Making purchases exempt from VAT could result in £3.65 billion (S$6.3 billion) of additional spending by visitors from the European Union. LONDON - UK retailers are renewing efforts to persuade Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists, as the government prepares to set out its plan to boost the so-called visitor economy. Making purchases exempt from VAT could result in £3.65 billion (S$6.3 billion) of additional spending by visitors from the European Union, the Association of International Retail said in a submission to ministers published on July 22. That is on top of about £1.5 billion of spending by non-EU visitors the lobby group said was diverted from the UK when it scrapped tax-free shopping in 2021. The report sent to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is the latest salvo in a long tussle between retailers and the government. Then Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak used the UK's exit from the EU as a chance to end a system that let travelers reclaim the 20 per cent VAT sales tax on their purchases. Since then, Conservative and Labour governments – with the exception of the short-lived administration of former Prime Minister Liz Truss – agreed with Mr Sunak's assessment that the policy cost the Treasury more than it gained. Subsequent analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility backed that view. Ms Reeves faces a fiscal shortfall heading into this year's autumn budget, after expensive U-turns on welfare cuts and amid reduced prospects for growth. That makes any change to her stance on tax-free shopping less likely, even as she faces calls to help companies after she raised payroll taxes this year. But British retailers argue they have lost out to countries like France and Spain that offer tax-free shopping to non-EU visitors, and have repeatedly put forward the argument that the Treasury is not taking into account the wider uplift in spending in considering the impact of the policy on the public coffers. Hundreds of retailers including Mulberry Group Plc, Fortnum & Mason Plc and John Lewis signed an open letter to Ms Reeves last year calling for the government to reinstate the policy. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump 'caught off guard' by Israel's strikes in Syria Opinion Singapore's vaping crisis lays bare the drug addiction nightmare for parents Singapore LTA seeks tailored solutions to improve Bukit Panjang LRT's maintenance inspections World US not rushing trade deals ahead of August deadline, will talk with China, Bessent says Multimedia 'It's very sad': She comforts loved ones turned away by inmates Opinion Sumiko at 61: 7 facts about facial skin ageing, and skincare ingredients that actually work Singapore Subsidies and grants for some 20,000 people miscalculated due to processing issue: MOH Opinion With Shatec cutting back operations, what's next for Singapore's hospitality sector? According to the Association of International Retail, the UK would become the only country in Europe offering VAT rebates to 450 million EU consumers. It also cited figures showing visitor spending in the UK was 92 per cent of 2019 levels last year, compared with 106 per cent in Spain and 110 per cent in France. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
3 hours ago
- Business Times
British business slows climate action, sees government net zero agenda as unrealistic
[LONDON] British business leaders are putting a brake on their plans to combat climate change and do not believe the government's approach to net zero is compatible with growth, a survey of 1,000 executives showed on Tuesday. Both large companies and small enterprises in health, construction, finance and manufacturing are turning away from climate-related action like target-setting, as falling confidence in Britain's climate agenda and high costs turn the tide on enthusiasm for net zero, the survey by the British Standards Institution (BSI) showed. The shift is happening despite the Labour government's commitment to boosting green growth, and substantial pledges for investment in clean energy, green technology, and jobs. Almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of business leaders surveyed said the government cannot expand the economy while at the same time trying to reach net-zero. Half (50 per cent) said that objective was unrealistic, according to the findings by the BSI, which sets best-practice quality requirements for anything from ball point pens to net-zero plans. The turnaround in sentiment coincides with a notable drop-off in corporate target-setting, action and climate commitments among British businesses, with firms citing high costs, lack of finance for green tech and a move to prioritise business growth as barriers, the BSI said. Scott Steedman, director general of standards at BSI, said the survey showed a 'hiatus in corporate activity probably linked to changes in government policy in the UK after the election and international backpedalling.' Only a third (36 per cent) of British businesses claim this year they have set targets to achieve net zero, a significant drop from the 58 per cent who stated they had done so last year, the survey shows. The portion of businesses this year taking climate action has also fallen markedly from 83 per cent in 2024 to just under a half (49 per cent) this year. Overall, the proportion of businesses saying they felt they would likely achieve net zero by 2050 fell from 76 per cent last year to 55 per cent this year, with over half expecting to revise their strategies or targets. However, the BSI said the vast majority of businesses (83 per cent) still wanted to take action and would like support to do so. REUTERS
Business Times
3 hours ago
- Business Times
UK retailers demand return of tax-free shopping in tourism plan
[LONDON] UK retailers are renewing efforts to persuade Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists, as the government prepares to set out its plan to boost the so-called visitor economy. Making purchases exempt from value added tax (VAT) could result in £3.7 billion (S$6.4 billion) of additional spending by visitors from the European Union, the Association of International Retail said in a submission to ministers published on Tuesday (Jul 22). That's on top of about £1.5 billion of spending by non-EU visitors, the lobby group said was diverted from the UK when it scrapped tax-free shopping in 2021. The report sent to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is the latest salvo in a long tussle between retailers and the government. Then Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak used the UK's exit from the EU as a chance to end a system that let travellers reclaim the 20 per cent VAT sales tax on their purchases. Since then, Conservative and Labour governments, with the exception of the short-lived administration of former Prime Minister Liz Truss, agreed with Sunak's assessment that the policy cost the Treasury more than it gained. Subsequent analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility backed that view. Reeves faces a fiscal shortfall heading into this year's autumn budget, after expensive U-turns on welfare cuts and amid reduced prospects for growth. That makes any change to her stance on tax-free shopping less likely, even as she faces calls to help companies after she raised payroll taxes this year. But British retailers argue they have lost out to countries such as France and Spain that offer tax-free shopping to non-EU visitors, and have repeatedly put forward the argument that the Treasury is not taking into account the wider uplift in spending in considering the impact of the policy on the public coffers. Hundreds of retailers including Mulberry Group, Fortnum & Mason and John Lewis signed an open letter to Reeves last year calling for the government to reinstate the policy. According to the Association of International Retail, the UK would become the only country in Europe offering VAT rebates to 450 million EU consumers. It also cited figures showing visitor spending in the UK was 92 per cent of 2019 levels last year, compared with 106 per cent in Spain and 110 per cent in France. BLOOMBERG
