Market slows with biggest-ever asking price drop say Rightmove

The year is ending with the largest-ever drop in asking prices according to the final ‘old-style’ index from Rightmove - but it says 2015 will see price rises.

The average asking price on a property has dropped £8,703 or 3.3 per cent in the past month, although this still leaves them up 7.0 per cent over the full year.

The portal claims this is a further indication of the slowing pace of growth, though it says it is important to note that the recovery remains countrywide with all regions recording positive price growth for the year.

Rightmove forecasts a national average rise in new seller asking prices in the range of four to five per cent for 2015.

The portal predicts the south east of England will see the highest growth in prices next year as the London ripple effect continues and stock shortages remain acute.

These factors mean that the east and south west regions also look set to perform better than the northern regions but Rightmove insists that “London will not be the price rise powerhouse leading the rest of the country as it has been in 2014” as affordability has already been stretched to its limit in some inner London locations and the threat of mansion tax on properties over £2m will remain a deterrent until at least May’s election.

Rightmove’s director, Miles Shipside, says stamp duty may pep up the market in early 2015 in some areas.

“For years sellers have had to price at £125,000, £250,000 or £500,000 even if the property would’ve been worth up to 10 per cent more in a market that wasn’t distorted by the Stamp Duty thresholds. No newly marketed property has a reason to price down to such an extent as before, so this is a limited opportunity and serious buyers around these brackets should be scouring the market for this older stock” he says.

The portal says its monthly index is being “refined” and will be in a new format in 2015. “The refinements will give the ability to report more in-depth and granular-level data. Some measures will be restated, including the national and regional average asking prices and numbers of properties coming to market” says a spokeswoman.