Executive summary
- Annual UK house price inflation moves negative to -0.5%, ranging from 1.6% in Scotland to -1.5% in the South East and Eastern regions
- Demand ticks higher over September as market sentiment improves
- Buyers unwilling to compromise on what they want in face of higher borrowing costs, waiting for price falls and/or lower mortgage rates
- Mortgage rates expected to fall slowly in Q4 2023
- Number of buyers will increase once mortgage rates get below 4.5%
- A buyers’ market remains – the average discount to the asking price to achieve a sale up to 4.2%, the highest since 2019
- Average UK house prices on track to be 2-3% lower over 2023
