South East asking prices down 1.8% on the year as mortgage approvals slip (3 October 2026)
Three releases in the past fortnight point the same way for anyone moving in Sussex. Asking prices in the South East are below last year's, homes are taking longer to sell, and the cost of a new mortgage has gone up again even though Bank Rate has not.
Rightmove: South East asking prices 1.8% lower than a year ago
Rightmove's September index, published on 21 September, put the average asking price for a newly listed home in the South East at £471,138. That is 0.3% up on August but 1.8% down on September 2025. The average South East home took 72 days to find a buyer, up from 69 in August, and only 56% of homes for sale in the region are finding one, against 91% in Scotland and 42% in London.
Nationally, asking prices rose 0.7% (£2,441) to £367,440, the first monthly rise since May and above the ten-year September average of 0.5%. Rightmove reads it as the usual autumn return of buyers after a quiet summer, but sellers face more homes on the market than at any point in 12 years for the time of year, and buyer demand is 9% lower than a year ago.
On mortgages, Rightmove's tracker has the average two-year fixed rate at 5.29%, up from 5.09% a month earlier and 4.25% before the war in Iran began at the end of February. It estimates the average monthly payment on a new mortgage is now around £180 higher than before the war.
Bank of England: mortgage approvals fall to 54,900
The Bank of England's Money and Credit figures, published on 29 September, showed net mortgage approvals for house purchase falling to 54,900 in August from 55,900 in July, below the average of around 60,100 over the previous six months. The Bank treats approvals as an indicator of future borrowing, so August's dip points to fewer completions later this autumn.
Remortgaging approvals with a different lender dipped to 34,000 from 34,600. The effective interest rate on newly drawn mortgages rose to 4.60% in August from 4.45% in July, while the rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages edged up to 4.00% from 3.97%. Net mortgage borrowing was £4.4 billion, up from £4.1 billion but below the six-month average of £5.2 billion.
The rise in mortgage costs has come without any move in Bank Rate. The Monetary Policy Committee held it at 3.75% on 17 September, but by six votes to three, with the three wanting a rise to 4%. Lenders price fixed deals off market expectations, and those expectations have moved up.
Source: Bank of England, Money and Credit August 2026, 29 September 2026; Monetary Policy Summary, 17 September 2026.
Nationwide: annual growth halves to 0.8%, Outer South East flat
Nationwide's September index, out this week, showed UK annual house price growth halving to 0.8% from 1.6% in August, the weakest rate since December 2025. Prices fell 0.2% on the month after seasonal adjustment, and the average price was £274,251.
Its quarterly regional figures for July to September matter more for Sussex. The Outer South East, which takes in most of the county, averaged £337,137 with prices unchanged on a year earlier (0.0%, from 0.1% in the second quarter). The Outer Metropolitan ring around London fell 0.2% to an average of £427,430. Across southern England as a whole prices were down 0.1%, while the North West rose 3.9% and Northern Ireland 5.9%.
Chief economist Robert Gardner pointed to "mounting financial market expectations of Bank Rate increases", which have kept pressure on mortgage pricing, but said underlying affordability is improving because house price growth "has been well below earnings growth for some time".
What this means if you are moving in Sussex
If you are selling, plan for a longer wait. At 72 days to find a buyer and with just over half of South East listings selling, the first asking price does most of the work: Rightmove says 74% of homes sold so far this year were priced right first time and needed no reduction.
If you are buying, the numbers are on your side on price and against you on borrowing. Asking prices are below last year's, but a two-year fix near 5.3% costs noticeably more each month than it did in February. Get an agreement in principle refreshed before you offer, because a quote from the summer may no longer hold. For the background to the slide, see our 12 September roundup on the Lloyds and RICS figures.