The average price of a home has risen by much less than expected in October, with buyers and sellers expressing caution ahead of the Budget at the end of the month.
Across Britain, the average asking price for a property increased by 0.3 per cent month-on-month, or £1,199, to reach £371,958, Rightmove said.
The website said October is usually one of the busiest months for the UK property market, with asking prices rising by 1.3 per cent on average.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science, said: “This month’s subdued price growth comes as buyer choice soars to a level not seen since 2014. With the ball in the buyer’s court and a big crop to choose from, sellers need to be pricing competitively to find a buyer.
“Some estate agents report that movers are also now waiting for Budget clarity and anticipated cheaper mortgage rates later this year.”
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will deliver her Budget on 30 October, with many concerned that Labour’s policies will be a dampener for the UK property market.
“Concerns over what the Budget may hold have made buyers more cautious,” said Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills.
Competition between sellers to attract buyers is particularly intense at the top end of the market, where the number of four-bedroom detached houses and five-bedroom-plus homes for sale is ahead of last year.
Rightmove said: “It’s a buyer’s market, reinforcing the need for sellers to price competitively while affordability is stretched and choice is high.”
But Mr Bannister added that the “big picture still looks positive for the market heading into 2025”.
He said: “Market activity remains strong, despite affordability pressures on movers. Once we have more certainty about the contents of the Budget, hopefully followed by speedy second and third base-rate cuts, we could see another surge in market optimism like we had in the summer.”
Despite the lower-than-expected rise for October, a separate study from Zoopla showed that homeowners in the UK who bought their property in the last 20 years are sitting on average gains of £80,000.
Izabella Lubowiecka, senior property researcher at the online property firm, said: “Millions of UK homeowners are sitting on tens of thousands of pounds in property value gains.”
Zoopla also found that those who sold their home in the past 12 months, made £65,000 on average, despite a recent drop in house prices.
