The index reveals that sellers are pricing realistically to attract buyers in the holiday season. Lower asking prices and good buyer choice are continuing to boost sales activity with the number of sales agreed 8% ahead of this time last year and the number of homes for sale is now 10% against the same period in 2024.

 The average price of property coming to the market for sale has dropped by a seasonal 1.3% (-£4,969) in August to £368,740.  The monthly price drop is in line with the ten-year average following the bigger than usual falls in June & July.

According to Rightmove, it is a two-speed market. While many sellers are pricing competitively and agreeing sales, others are still pricing too high.

The average time to find a buyer is now 62 days, however, it takes an average of 32 days to find a buyer if a property doesn’t need a price reduction, versus 99 days if it does

The Bank of England’s third rate cut of the year has boosted buyer optimism and affordability, with Rightmove’s daily mortgage tracker showing that the average two-year fixed mortgage rate is now 4.49% compared with 5.17% at this time last year:

Commenting on the latest figures Rightmove property expert Colleen Babcock 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.

Astute buyers are now benefitting from new seller asking prices which are on average an enticing £10,000 cheaper than three months ago. Buyers have the upper hand in this high-supply market, so a tempting price is vital to agree a sale.”

She added: “Our data shows that for a successful sale it’s better to get the price right in the first place, but if a seller does need to reduce the price it’s better to act fast rather than waiting too long.”

Resilient property sector 

Finova business development director Hamza Behzad said: “As mortgage availability ramps up and the homeowners close on their remortgage deals, the groundwork is set for a healthy spell of activity in one of the UK’s most resilient investment sectors.

“Nonetheless, we must keep an eye on the bigger picture. Like any market, the UK property sector is influenced by wider geopolitical events, which are by nature hard to predict. And affordability is still a major hurdle.”

He added: “Lenders are innovative by nature, but our sector must keep pushing forward.”

MT Finance director Tomer Aboody agreed that as affordability increases, helped by interest rate reductions, buyers were finding themselves in a stronger position. “A reduction in asking prices indicates that sellers for the most part understand that if they are to attract those buyers they need to be realistic on pricing.

He added: “With buyers paying more stamp duty than earlier in the year, this has impacted budgets but lower interest rates have helped balance this out to some extent. Further rate reductions will drive further demand but the close vote at the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting could mean the next cut may be further away than previously hoped.”