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UK property asking prices see first June fall since 2009

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Asking prices for British property softened in June, reflecting the first drop for the period since 2009. Photo: Bloomberg

Asking prices for British houses and apartments fell in June, the first decline in the month since 2009, led by drops in the London area as wage growth slowed and political uncertainty rose, property website Rightmove said on Monday.

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The figures are based on property advertised between May 14 and June 10, covering mostly the final weeks before a June 8 national election which saw Prime Minister Theresa May unexpectedly lose her parliamentary majority.

Rightmove said average asking prices for property sold on its website dropped 0.4 per cent in June, normally a month which sees a seasonal price rise, after rising 1.2 per cent in May.

“The price of property coming to the market had increased in June in every year since 2009, so buyers’ confidence has clearly been affected by inflation outstripping their pay packets and current political events,” Rightmove director Miles Shipside said.

May has so far been unable to secure support for her Conservative Party from its most likely parliamentary ally, Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party.

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The Collective Old Oak in West London opened as the world’s largest co-living space in 2016. Photo: Nick Guttridge
The Collective Old Oak in West London opened as the world’s largest co-living space in 2016. Photo: Nick Guttridge
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