The UK housing market appears to be cooling, driven by London and the south of England.
New figures from property portal Rightmove this morning show that the average asking price on a UK home is 0.1% lower than this time last year, after several months of muted price growth.
That’s the first annual decline in asking prices since January 2024, which Rightmove attribute to several months of “competitive pricing” by new sellers over the summer, with some cutting prices to secure a buyer.
The decline in asking prices is mainly seen in the south of the country; they’re down 1.1% in London, -0.7% in south-east England, and -1.3% in the south-west.
In contrast, asking prices are still 2.6% higher than a year ago in Scotland, and 3.2% higher in the north-west of England.
On a month-on-month basis, though, Rightmove reports that the average asking price rose by 0.4% (+£1,517) to £370,257.
The cost of renting a property in Great Britain has also dipped this summer. Estate agent Hamptons reports that newly agreed rents in Great Britain fell -0.4% year-on-year in August 2025 to £1,387 per calendar month, a saving of £6 per month.
New rents are falling most sharply in London, Hamptons says. Inner London rents fell by 5.8% over the last 12 months, the largest decline since May 2021, while overall across the capital they are 3.3% lower than a year ago, according to its data.
Today’s key events
• 10am BST: Eurozone trade balance for July
• Noon BST: Bank of International Settlements’ quarterly review of markets
• 1.30pm BST: US Empire State Manufacturing Index
We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day on our business live blog…
