Average asking price for UK home drops by £5,000 in November

Analysts say market is still relatively busy despite decline of 1.4%, which is unusually high for this time of year

The average asking price for a UK home has dropped by more than £5,000 this month as the autumn budget caused housing market jitters before the usual Christmas slowdown.

Average asking prices from new sellers fell by £5,366, or 1.4%, in November to £366,592, compared with the 0.8% decline usually recorded at this time of year, according to the website Rightmove.

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Number of homes sold in UK up by a third, says Rightmove

Autumn price bump failed to emerge as buyers spoiled for choice, with properties on market at a 10-year high

The number of homes being sold is up almost a third, year on year, so far this month, although the traditional autumn price bump has failed to emerge due to buyers being spoilt for choice, with the number of properties for sale at a 10-year high, according to Rightmove.

The number of sales agreed is up 29%, with the number of house hunters contacting estate agents up 17%, despite some market uncertainty caused by the looming budget at the end of October.

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Rightmove rejects £6.2bn takeover offer by Murdoch-backed real estate firm

FTSE 100 firm turns down fourth offer from the Australian property company REA Group

Rightmove has rejected a £6.2bn takeover offer from REA Group, the Australian real estate firm backed by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

The UK property portal told the City on Monday morning that its board had turned down REA’s fourth offer, having concluded it was “unattractive and materially undervalues Rightmove”.

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Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group raises offer to buy Rightmove to £6.2bn

Australian group calls on Rightmove board to ‘engage now’ after fourth offer for UK online property portal

Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group has made a fourth attempt to buy Rightmove, increasing its offer to £6.2bn as it steps up its pursuit of the UK’s largest online property portal.

The Australian property group, which is controlled by News Corp, raised its cash and shares offer from the £6.1bn offered earlier this week and called on Rightmove’s board to “engage now” after it refused repeatedly to meet the suitor.

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Rightmove rejects third bid from Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group

Australian company says it is frustrated that UK property website has refused to engage over £6.1bn offer

Rightmove has rejected a third bid from Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group and said the offer was “unattractive” and undervalues the UK’s largest online property portal.

On Wednesday Rightmove confirmed that its board had “unanimously rejected” the non-binding cash-and-shares offer put forward on Monday, which valued the company at £6.1bn.

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Surge in larger homes for sale amid capital gains tax fears, Rightmove says

Speculation Rachel Reeves to raise tax in budget thought one reason for some homeowners cashing out

Growing speculation about a capital gains tax (CGT) raid in October’s budget appears to have prompted a surge in the number of larger homes being put up for sale, the UK’s biggest property website says.

Rightmove said in the week ending 9 September there had been “a flurry of activity at the top end” of the market. The number of larger homes – defined as four-bedroom detached houses and all five-bedroom and larger properties – being listed for sale in Great Britain was 15% more than in the same period last year. And in the east and south-west of England, which include some of the UK’s most popular coastal and countryside hotspots, the percentage was over 20%.

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Rupert Murdoch-owned firm REA makes £5.6bn offer for Rightmove

Board rejects non-binding indicative proposal of 705p a share for UK’s biggest online real-estate portal

REA, the Australian property company majority-owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, has made a £5.6bn offer for Rightmove, the UK’s biggest online real-estate portal.

The Rightmove board rejected the 705p a share offer, worth 18.6% of the enlarged company post-deal, which comes a week after REA confirmed it was considering a cash and share offer for Rightmove.

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Interest rate cut fuels immediate upturn in UK property market

Figures from Rightmove show inquiries to estate agents since 1 August up 19% compared with a year ago

The first Bank of England rate cut in four years has triggered an immediate upturn in the UK property market, as cheaper mortgages prompt interest among buyers and drive up house prices.

Figures from the property website Rightmove show the number of potential buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale since 1 August jumped by 19% compared with the same time a year ago. Contacts in July were up 11% on the previous year.

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Private rents in Great Britain hit record high, data shows

Rightmove says average advertised price outside London is up 9.2% on a year ago despite fall in some regions

Average private rents in Great Britain have climbed to new record highs, though in some regions there has been a small fall in the amount new tenants are being asked to pay, data shows.

The typical advertised private rent outside London for new properties coming on to the market rose to a record £1,280 a calendar month in the final quarter of 2023, according to the property website Rightmove. That is £2 higher than the £1,278 figure recorded in the third quarter – a sign that rental growth is slowing.

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London borough of Richmond is ‘happiest place to live in Great Britain’

Access to huge parks, restaurants and transport links plus a Ted Lasso-factor lead area to top Rightmove’s ‘happy at home’ index

It is home to London’s largest royal park as well as big-hitting tourist attractions such as Kew Gardens and Hampton Court Palace, and has more recently become a place of pilgrimage for fans of the hit TV comedy Ted Lasso. Now, the borough of Richmond upon Thames in south-west London has been named “the happiest place to live” in Great Britain.

It received the accolade from property website Rightmove, which runs a “happy at home” index – now in its 12th year – where it asks residents how they feel about their area based on 13 “happiness factors”.

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Average house price in Great Britain exceeds £350,000 for first time

Asking prices up 1.7% in March, biggest monthly rise for this time of year in 18 years, according to Rightmove

The average price tag on a home in Great Britain has topped £350,000 for the first time, according to Rightmove.

Typical asking prices hit £354,564 in March, up 1.7% or £5,760 compared with February, the property website said. It was the biggest monthly rise for this time of year in 18 years, and pushed the annual rate of growth in asking prices to 10.4%.

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