Average asking price of a home down £14,200

Rightmove has reported a 1% fall in the asking price of the average home in the month to 13th September.

The decline is below the 2.3% recorded by the property website in August but puts the average asking price at £227,438 or £14,204 less than a year ago.

The firm has also noted a slight decline in the number of properties for sale, with agents marketing an average of 78 homes, compared with 79 in August.

Rightmove spokesman, Miles Shipside, is predicting that the number of homes for sale will fall further unless mortgage lenders can improve their access to funding from the money markets.

However, analysts expect the fallout from last week’s financial turmoil to further restrict lending between banks and also raise mortgage interest rates.

Another dampener on the UK property market is the fact that three-bedroom homes that were offered for sale before the Home Information Pack deadline of last September will be required to have an Energy Performance Certificate from 1st October, putting their already disillusioned vendors to expense.

According to Rightmove, the owners of around 98,000 properties that have languished on the market for a year or more could have to pay up to £100 if they want to remain for sale.

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