UK House Prices See Biggest August Fall Since 2018

British house prices have suffered their sharpest August decline since 2018, property website Rightmove has reported, adding that prices are likely to keep falling for the rest of the year.

The fall comes despite what has been dubbed the 'Burnham bounce' in some areas — a localised, short-term uptick in prices — which has not been enough to offset the broader downward trend across the national market.

Rightmove's data illustrates how even the country's wealthiest neighbourhoods are affected. In Kensington and Chelsea, London's richest borough, asking prices for newly listed homes dropped by £100,000 in a single month.

Estate agents in the area have reported an increase in lowball offers from buyers, meaning bids well below the asking price, as purchasers try to take advantage of a softening market.

The figures suggest that sellers, even in traditionally resilient high-value areas, may be forced to adjust their price expectations amid weaker demand.

In a separate development covered in the same live business update, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JP Morgan, one of the world's largest financial institutions, warned the UK government against imposing higher bank taxes.

Bank taxes, additional levies imposed on financial firms to raise government revenue, have periodically been debated in UK fiscal policy, particularly as the government seeks new sources of income.

Dimon's intervention reflects concern within the banking sector that increased taxation could discourage investment or push financial activity elsewhere.

Both stories were reported as part of a wider live coverage of business news, which also touched on interest rates, oil prices and stock market movements on the same day, reflecting a broader mix of economic pressures facing the UK at present.

Analysts will be watching closely to see whether the housing market's slowdown deepens, and whether the government responds to industry warnings over bank taxation in its coming fiscal decisions.