According to the report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), average house prices fell by 1.2% per annum in October after falling by 0.6% per annum in September. It was the second consecutive monthly decline and the steepest drop since October 2011, as the housing market feels the hit from higher interest rates. Economists had expected prices to remain unchanged. On a monthly and seasonally adjusted basis, the average house price declined by 0.3%, slowing compared to September (-0.7%).
The ONS said that the average house price fell by 3,000 pounds compared to October 2022, to 288,000 pounds. Average house prices decreased in England (-1,4%, to 306,000 pounds) and in Wales (-3,0%, to 214,000 pounds), but increased in Scotland (+0,2%, to 191,000 pounds). London’s average house prices remain the most expensive of any region in the UK, with an average price of 516,000 pounds. London is also the region with the lowest annual house price inflation, with average prices decreasing by 3.6% per annum (the lowest rate since August 2009) after falling by 2.2% per annum in September.
Separate data showed that in November private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 6.2% per annum (the largest increase since the data collection started in 2016) after an increase of 6.1% per annum in October. Annual private rental prices increased by 6.1% per annum in England, 7.3% per annum in Wales, and 6.2% per annum in Scotland. Within England, in November London had the highest annual percentage change in private rental prices at 6.9% per annum, while the North East saw the lowest at 4.7% per annum.