UK home asking prices black hole, biggest seasonal fall since 2012 ahead of Reeves’ budget

UK house sellers cut asking prices more sharply than usual in early November as uncertainty ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget kept buyers on the sidelines, according to new data from Rightmove. Average asking prices fell 1.8% in the four weeks to Nov. 8 — the steepest seasonal drop since 2012 — pushing prices 0.5% below year-earlier levels.

• Rightmove said the surge in available supply, now the highest in a decade, is also weighing on pricing power.
• Other gauges, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ monthly survey, have shown similar signs of cooling as the Nov. 26 budget approaches, with expected tax increases prompting buyers to pause.
• Reductions on homes already listed for sale have reached their highest level since February 2024. The uncertainty is hitting the top end of the market hardest: agreed sales of properties priced above £2 million are down 13% from a year ago. Even so, overall sales for 2025 remain 4% higher than at this point last year.

Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock said the delayed budget had effectively brought forward the typical year-end slowdown, as many buyers hold off until they understand how their finances may be affected.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.