The UK housing market has shown its slowest October rise in asking prices since 2008, as reported by property website Rightmove. This trend reflects the impact of rising borrowing costs on

the real estate sector.

Between September 10 and October 7, the average asking prices for homes increased by only 0.5%, a significant drop from the average increase of 1.4% typically observed during this period. Furthermore, these prices saw a year-on-year decrease of 0.8%, and the number of agreed sales dropped by 17% compared to the previous year.

Various indicators in the British housing market, which experienced a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, have also shown signs of cooling. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported the most extensive house price falls since 2009 in September.

The Bank of England had implemented 14 consecutive interest rate hikes between December 2021 and August 2023 before pausing the increases in September.

According to Tim Bannister, the director of Rightmove, the mortgage market has gained stability after experiencing 11 weeks of declining mortgage rates. Additionally, the number of buyers interested in each property listing remained 8% higher than the equivalent period in 2019, before the pandemic.