Savvy summer sellers drive best July for sales agreed since 2020
- The average price of property coming to the market for sale drops by a seasonal 1.3% (-£4,969) this month to £368,740. August’s price drop is in line with the ten-year average following the bigger than usual falls in June & July
- Savvy summer sellers are pricing realistically to attract holiday-distracted buyers. Lower asking prices and good buyer choice are continuing to boost sales activity, resulting in the best July for sales agreed since 2020’s active post-lockdown market:
- The number of sales being agreed is now 8% ahead of this time last year as serious buyers and sellers lock in deals
- The number of homes for sale is now 10% up on this time last year muting the annual price increase to just 0.3%
- It’s a two-speed market. While many sellers are pricing competitively and agreeing sales, others are still pricing too high:
- 34% of properties for sale are reduced in price, and since 2012, it’s only been higher at this time of year in 2023
- The overall 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 helps buyer optimism and affordability further, 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:
- However, the closer than expected Bank vote has cast some uncertainty over a fourth cut before the end of the year
Third monthly price fall in a row, in line with usual August drop
Average asking prices are now 0.3% higher than at this time last year
Busiest July for agreed sales since 2020 as lower prices drive more activity
National average asking price
Aug 2025
£368,740
Jul 2025
£373,709
MoM change
-1.3%
National average asking price by market sector (excluding inner London)
First time buyers
£226,297
MoM change
-0.5%
Second-steppers
£344,046
MoM change
-0.6%
Top of the ladder
£672,668
MoM change
-2.1%
“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. The strategy is working, with the number of sales agreed in the full month of July being the best at this time of year since 2020. At that time, the market had recently re-opened after the first pandemic lockdown, and generous stamp duty reductions had just been announced. However, the high number of price reductions we’re seeing is an indicator that some sellers are still coming to market with too high a price and then reducing it to become competitive. 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.
“Strong summer property sales as well as a stable level of new buyer demand bode well for the next couple of months. We usually see a busier autumn compared to the summer as the new school year starts and more focus returns to moving home. Autumn sellers may also be hoping to be in a new home by Christmas, but they would need to beat the average time to find a buyer and complete a home sale, An active autumn will certainly be helped by the recent third interest rate cut of 2025 by the Bank of England. While we don’t expect the cut itself to spark major mortgage rate drops, it’s good for market sentiment and buyer optimism. Mortgage rates have been slowly trending downwards this year, and someone looking at the average home could expect to save over £100 a month on a new mortgage compared with last year.”
Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove