The widest choice in more than a decade

Rightmove's August index, published on 17 August, put the average asking price of newly listed homes at £364,999, down 2.0% or £7,360 on the month. Annually, asking prices are 1.0% lower, the largest annual fall on this measure since December 2023. Rightmove has revised its 2026 forecast for national average asking prices to between 0% and minus 2%.

The number that matters more is stock. The volume of homes for sale is at a twelve-year high for this time of year. Buyers have the widest choice at this point in the calendar in over a decade.

Why this reads worse than it is

Asking prices are what sellers hope for. They are not transactions. Nationwide, which measures completed purchases with a mortgage, had annual growth at 1.8% in July. A gap of nearly three percentage points between the two measures is not a contradiction. It is the distance between seller expectation and buyer reality, and in August it widened.

Buyer demand has also improved, rising 5% since late July, although it remains around 10% below the same point last year.

What it means for property investors

  • A twelve-year stock high is leverage, and it expires. Choice this wide is a negotiating position, not a permanent feature. It narrows when listings clear or vendors withdraw.
  • Overpriced listings are the opportunity. A 2.0% monthly drop in new asking prices means the stock sitting unsold from June and July is now visibly above the market, and those vendors are the ones who will engage on price.
  • A funded buyer who can complete is the scarce party. Against a seller with ten competing listings nearby, that counts for more than offering slightly more and moving slowly.

How we are using it

We are putting offers in below asking on stock that has been listed more than eight weeks, and we are being specific with vendors about why: the comparable evidence is public and it is not on their side. We are also holding the line on diligence. A wide market tempts investors into volume, and the discipline that matters in a buyer's market is still saying no to the majority of what you see.

The bottom line

Asking prices fell, annual growth on that measure went negative, and buyers now have more to choose from than at any August in twelve years. For anyone with finance arranged, this is the most favourable purchasing backdrop of the last two years. Use it on the right building, not on the cheapest one.