Rightmove reports biggest June house price fall in 14 years

LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Asking prices for newly advertised British houses and apartments recorded their biggest June fall in 14 years this month as unusually hot weather and economic uncertainty caused by the war in Iran hurt demand, property website Rightmove said on Monday.

Prices for property put on sale during Rightmove's June period - which runs from May 10 to June 6 - were 0.6% lower than for homes marketed a month earlier. Prices had risen by 1.2% on a monthly basis in the May period.

"It's unusual to see a price fall of this size in June, as we would normally expect to see modest price growth at this point in the year," Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said.

"What's different this time is a combination of factors, including wider economic uncertainty, the timing of the May bank holiday and unusual heatwave, and the high number of homes on the market, which together appear to be bringing forward the traditionally slower summer market,"

Rightmove also said:

• Asking ⁠prices in June were 0.5% lower than a year earlier, after a 0.3% annual drop in May

• The average two-year fixed mortgage interest rate fell to 5.07% on June 8 from ​5.18% a ​month earlier

• Buyer demand fell 10% in May, when Britain recorded its hottest ever May temperatures

• The number of homes newly advertised for sale fell 5% compared to a year ago and is 6% higher compared with the same period ​in 2024

• Sales agreed were 6% ⁠below ​their level a year ​earlier but similar to 2024 volumes

(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; editing by David Milliken)