The number of homes sold in the UK during September is nearly 5% higher than last year, latest research from Rightmove reveals.

The portal also says people’s earnings are now rising faster than house prices rises, the first time this has happened since the early noughties.

Rightmove’s monthly house price index says “demand remains strong for the right property at the right price” but that prices are rising by 1.1% on average across the UK, the lowest annual rise since February 2012.

The portal says the average price for a home in the UK during September is 313,663, down from £330,003 in August and a 1.2% drop despite the overall annual rise. It’s part of a trend that has included drops in price or very weak increases since June.

This trend bucks the usual post-Summer bounce that the property market enjoys as buyers and sellers stimulate the market after their return from holidays and activity ramps up.

Damp squib

Rightmove blames this“damp squib” Autumn market on London’s faltering performance, where prices dropped by 2.9% during September, although prices have been falling month-on-month elsewhere including in Wales (-3.3%), the South West (-0.7%) and the West Midlands (-1.3%).

London is the only place where prices have been falling both month-on-month and year-on-year.

“There were Autumn price bounces nationally in 2014, 2015 and 2016, but the south of the country has turned this month into a bit of a damp squib, whilst some northern regions are still showing marginal signs of upwards price pressure,” says spokesman Miles Shipside.

“Estate agents are clearly advising many sellers that they have to lower their price expectations to fit in with buyers’ stretched financial resources, with that price compromise hopefully generating extra buyer interest.”

Robert McLaughlin, Sales Director at Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward in London, said: “We’ve advised sellers in many locations across London that the current market requires sensible and realistic pricing.

“Pockets of high demand still exist but tend to be concentrated around specific streets, schools and transport hubs.”