House prices drop in November as sellers lower expectations - Rightmove

House prices in the UK fell this month as new sellers priced their homes more realistically in the run-up to Christmas, against a backdrop of stretched affordability and Brexit uncertainty.

According to Rightmove, house prices fell by 1.7% on the month in November versus a 1% increase in October, marking the largest November drop since 2012.

Rightmove said that while it is normal for seller asking prices to fall at this time of the year, cooling markets in the south and in the upper price sectors, along with political uncertainty, have resulted in new sellers lowering their asking price aspirations earlier than usual.

The biggest declines were seen in London, where the typical asking price dropped by 1.7%, or £10,793. Rightmove said this was not unexpected as the capital usually sees greater seasonal volatility than the rest of the country.

On the year, house prices were down 0.2% compared to a 0.9% rise in September.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said: "New sellers and their agents are reacting to market forces and lowering their pricing aspirations by more and sooner than usual. Stretched buyer affordability and the cooling markets in the south and in upper price brackets have combined with the ongoing political uncertainty to change pricing optimism into pricing realism.

"This is a welcome effort by sellers to minimise the usual pre-Christmas market slowdown. Some new-to-the-market sellers and their agents have acted early to try to improve the buying mood and avoid the traditional 'buyer humbug' dislike of Christmas housing activity."