House prices drop for the first time in 2021

This has predominantly been driven by the cooling at the higher end of the market - with the upper-end four bedroom plus sector down by £4,699 in the month, as buyers are no longer making larger stamp duty savings.

There has, however, been record highs in the mass market sectors made up of two bedroom and first-time buyer-type properties - up by £1,328 - and three to four bedroom second-stepper type properties - up £975 - where activity remains very strong. These lower-priced sectors were affected by the withdrawal of most stamp duty incentives.

Commenting on the findings, Rightmove’s director of property data Tim Bannister said: “The mass market of properties that cater for first-time buyers and second-steppers is still seeing high demand and upwards price pressure leading to new record high average prices in those sectors.

“In England, there remains a smaller duty saving of up to £2,500, though the window to take advantage of this saving by buying now and completing by the end of September is pretty much closed.”

Despite the “relative summer pause”, buyer demand remains strong - with Rightmove predicting that there will be an autumn bounce in both seller activity and prices. In the first week of August, individual buyer enquiries to agents went up by 56% on the same period in the pre-Covid year of 2019 - and down 17% on the frenzied post-lockdown 2020 numbers.

In addition to this, the number of sales agreed is up by 9% on the same period in 2019 - with stocks for sale still at record lows with buyer demand hoovering up new supply leading to more properties selling.

Rightmove’s analysis also shows that the likelihood of sellers finding a buyer remains close to an all-time high. The average time for a newly listed property, subject to contract, to be sold is at its quickest ever at 36 days - a whole month faster than in February 2020.

However, because of the “fierce competition” to buy property, there’s a high risk that consumers will lose out to another buyer who is in a better position to proceed. As a result, many sellers are choosing to have a buyer lined up subject to contract before looking to secure their own purchase.

Commenting on the findings, property services group Countrywide’s managing director Toby Philips said: “The UK property market continues to defy expectations with houses continuing to sell faster than ever. Although we’re seeing glimmers of a downturn in house prices as a result of the tapered stamp duty holiday deadline, we’re seeing this predominantly in the premium end of the market.

“Across our southern region in particular we’re seeing a continued surge in the volume of new buyers looking to purchase the limited housing stock available. This is creating a fast moving, favourable market for sellers.

“We can see little sign of this abating and would go as far as predicting an autumn bounce in prices if buyer demand continues as it is. At Bairstow Eves, we’ve never seen a seller’s market quite like this. We would encourage anyone thinking of selling to take advantage of this window of opportunity, now.”