Rising mortgage rates are beginning to affect house prices in some of Britain's most affordable areas, with sellers cutting asking prices as buyers face higher borrowing costs. Rightmove's latest House Price Index indicates that average asking prices rose 1% this month to £371,015, but remain 0.1% below a year ago.
The average two-year fixed mortgage rate has climbed to 5.55%, up from 5.29% last month. This increase has added approximately £250 a month to the cost of a typical new mortgage, according to Rightmove.
The impact is now more evident in regions that had previously shown resilience. The North East saw the largest fall in asking prices at 2%, followed by Scotland at 1.9%. Asking prices also decreased in the North West (-0.6%) and Wales (-0.3%), with Yorkshire and the Humber being the only exception among the cheapest regions, recording a 0.3% increase.
London recorded Britain's largest monthly asking price increase, rising 2.5% in October. However, this follows a weak summer where prices fell 6% across July and August, and asking prices in the capital are still 1.7% below October 2025 levels. Rightmove suggests this rise partly reflects seasonal activity, with some sellers delaying listings until autumn.
Across Britain, the number of sales agreed is 8% lower than the same period last year, and buyer enquiries have fallen by 9% year-on-year. New listings have increased by 3%, leading to the highest number of homes for sale at this time of year since 2014, which is intensifying competition among sellers.