Asking prices for UK properties have fallen for the third month in a row, dropping by £4,969 (1.3%) between July and August as prices continue their summer dip.
The average asking price for a house coming to market is now £368,740, just 0.3% higher than it was in August 2024, far slower than inflation, new research from Rightmove suggests.
The dip has been driven by summer sellers slashing the asking prices of their properties to attract more buyers at a time when most are more focused on their holidays than house hunting.
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While this year’s August dip is in line with the previous ten-year average, the overall summer dip has been a little harsher in 2025 as price drops in June and July were bigger than in previous years.
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This August, 34% of all houses currently on the market have had their asking prices lowered, Rightmove found, to try to entice buyers in a market with increased choice – there are 10% more homes on the market today than this time last year.
The average time it takes sellers to find a buyer is now 62 days, but this falls to just 32 days if the property does not need a price reduction, compared to 99 days if it does.
Competitive pricing is also fuelling an increase in transactions. The number of sales completed in the full month of July was the highest since 2020 as lower house prices made it a good time to buy a house.
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: “Savvy summer sellers have read the room and are coming to market with even more competitive pricing than usual to really stand out and attract serious and active buyers.”
She added that buyers today are benefiting from prices which are, on average, £10,000 cheaper than they were three months ago.
“Buyers have the upper hand in this high-supply market, so a tempting price is vital to agree a sale,” Babcock said.
“The strategy is working, with the number of sales agreed in the full month of July being the best at this time of year since 2020. At that time, the market had recently re-opened after the first pandemic lockdown, and generous stamp duty reductions had just been announced.”
Falling interest rates are set to boost the property market
Amid a five-year high volume of property sales, the market is set for another boost after the Bank of England decided to cut interest rates to 4% on 7 August.
Affordability will also be bolstered as mortgage rates fall in line with reductions to the base rate. Rightmove’s daily tracker found that average two-year fixed mortgage rates are now 4.49%, down from 5.17% at this time last year – an average saving of around £117 per month.
Rightmove expects some further small mortgage rate reductions over the next few weeks but no major drops as a fourth cut to the base rate has become more uncertain.
Matt Smith, mortgage expert at Rightmove, said that while a third base rate cut was positive, “the supporting commentary from the Bank of England suggests the opportunity for further cuts has narrowed”.
“Lenders have moved their rates downwards to remain competitive, but there doesn't look like much room for too many further reductions if current market forecasts play out,” he added.
While lenders could potentially lower rates to gain a competitive advantage, Smith said he doesn’t think “this would play out across the market and would likely target specific segments of movers”.
“Overall, with further data to be released and external events to play out, I think it's likely rates will remain pretty much flat from here, with only small movements up or down,” he concluded.
Where are asking prices falling the most?
Average asking prices fell in every region of England, Scotland, and Wales between July and August.
As has been the case for some months, prices fell the most in London with asking prices falling by 2.6% in the capital since last month and down 1.6% since last year.
This price drop has been most harshly seen in the largely affluent borough of Richmond upon Thames where average asking prices dropped by 4.7% since last month to £965,679, though are still up 4.8% on the year.
While asking prices have continued their sustained fall in London, homes in the capital are still, on average, far more expensive than anywhere else in the country at £666,983.
Average asking prices also fell significantly month-on-month in the South West (-1.8%) and South East (-1.4%) with asking prices in both regions being lower today than they were a year ago.
The North East, which last month had seen the highest asking price growth of 1.2%, saw prices fall in August by 1% to £194,799, though prices are still up 1.1% on the year.
The only part of the country where asking prices did not see a significant fall was Wales, where they were largely static month-on-month at an average of £270,880 – up 3% on the year.
