Home Sellers Lower Asking Prices Amidst Real Estate Market Impact from High Interest Rates

This month, sellers have made the most significant reduction in asking prices for November in the past five years, as elevated 15-year interest rates exert pressure on the housing market.

Sellers have lowered asking prices by approximately 1.7%, or £6,088, to £362,143, marking the most substantial average price decrease in November since 2017, according to Rightmove.

The property portal reported that, while prices typically drop in the lead-up to Christmas, it termed this decline in asking prices as "larger than usual."

Data from Halifax last week indicated a 1.1% increase in house prices in October after a six-month decline, attributed to people postponing listing their homes for sale, resulting in reduced supply.

The bank stated that sellers are exercising "caution" rather than selling shares at lower prices.

However, new figures from Rightmove suggest that those actively seeking to sell still need to adjust their price expectations due to high borrowing costs.

Tim Bannister, Director of Property Data at Rightmove, said, "We expect to see prices from new sellers asking prices drop in the last couple of months of the year as serious sellers start to stand out from discretionary sellers and trim the Christmas noise with an appealing price to secure buyers."

"However, a more significant than usual fall this month signals that, despite the usual seasonality of prices, we are beginning to see more new sellers heeding their agents' advice and coming to market with more tempting prices to stand out from their overly optimistic competitors."

Read the latest updates below.

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By Chris Price and Ria Makvana

November 13, 2023 • 8:43 AM

8:43 AM

FTSE 100 Index Rises Amid Copper Price Growth

The FTSE 100 index began the week with an increase, attributed to the rise in shares of industrial metallurgy companies due to the growth in copper prices.

The commodity companies' index increased by 0.7%, and the mid-cap companies' index added 0.2%.

Stock quotes of industrial mining companies rose by 1.1%, driven by the increase in copper prices amid the weakening of the dollar.

Meanwhile, Phoenix Group raised its revenue forecast for the entire year after completing the merger of two of its insurance brands.

Insurance company shares rose by 8.6%, leading the FTSE 100 index at the start of trading, lifting the broader life insurance index by 1.8% and outperforming the sector.

Despite growing losses, real estate company British Land evaluated the annual growth in rental value at the upper end of the previous forecast range, pushing shares up by 6.2% to the top of the FTSE 250 index.

Shares of Dr. Martens fell by 3.2% after Barclays lowered the shoemaker's target price.

8:25 AM

Asda Owners to Acquire Tesla Charging Network

The EG Group, a giant petrol station operator, announced the acquisition of the Tesla electric car charging network.

EG Group, managed by Asda owners Mohsin and Zuber Issa, stated that the charging stations would be branded as evpoint and would be available to all electric vehicle drivers.

Zuber Issa said:

"The acquisition of this best-in-class Tesla equipment marks another milestone for evpoint and is very exciting for us.

This is the first deal of its kind that Tesla has entered into with a third-party charging station operator in Europe. It will change how our customers charge their cars and interact with EG.

Since installing our first electric vehicle charging point in 2012, we have continued to invest in this technology.

This deal will accelerate the delivery of vital charging infrastructure for motorists, helping to facilitate the transition to clean zero."

Tesla PHOTO: Jalal Gureshi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

8:18 AM

British Companies More Optimistic Than European Competitors

According to a survey, British businesses are more positive about what will happen to their businesses next year than their European counterparts.

Business confidence in the UK fell to the lowest level this year in October, as shown by the latest Accenture/S&P Global UK Business Outlook survey.

Only 37% of businesses expect increased activity next year, compared to 40% in June and 43% in February.

However, business optimism in the UK still remained relatively high compared to global averages: 25% anticipate activity growth, while in Europe, 16% expect growth.

These figures dropped by 3% and 9%, respectively.