August house prices fall at their steepest pace for half a decade

House prices have fallen at their steepest pace for August since 2018 as sellers try to attract interest amid a cost of living squeeze and soaring interest rates.

Average asking prices fell by 1.9 per cent compared with July according to figures from property website Rightmove.

It meant the typical house was on the market for £364,895 – down from £371,907 a month earlier. Prices also fell, by 0.1 per cent, compared to the same month last year – the first year-on-year drop in asking prices since 2019.

And the number of sales being agreed is now 15 per cent lower than in pre-pandemic 2019 ‘as higher mortgage rates mean that some have had to pause their moving plans for now’, Rightmove said.

It is the latest sign that the housing market is being battered by the inflation squeeze on household incomes and an increase in interest rates to the highest level since 2008.

Squeeze: A dip in asking prices is not unusual during August as sellers seek to drum up interest during a quiet period for the market

A dip in asking prices is not unusual during August as sellers seek to drum up interest during a quiet period for the market.

But the latest fall is twice the level of the typical 0.9 per cent slide. Rightmove said average asking prices were now £8,000, or 2 per cent, lower than at their peak in May.

But that follows a strong rise over the last few years and they are 19 per cent, or £59,000, higher than in August 2019.

Rightmove said some sellers were ‘seizing the initiative and heeding their agents’ advice to price competitively for their current local market conditions’.