House prices fall by as much as £315,000 since disastrous mini-budget

The latest market analysis by property purchasing specialist, House Buyer Bureau, reveals which areas of the UK have endured the biggest house price drops since September 2022’s disastrous mini-budget, with the worst hit district seeing prices slashed by more than £315,000.

When then Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced his and Liz Truss’s mini-budget in September 2022, it sent an already fragile UK economy into turmoil. Amidst the chaos that immediately followed the statement, inflation grew, interest rates increased, and many high street mortgage providers pulled their products from the market. All of which caused the housing market to stall after a lengthy period of remarkable growth.

In the months since the fated budget announcement, numerous house price indices, from the Land Registry to Nationwide and Halifax, have shown that the rate of house price growth has started to slide.

However, regional house price analysis by House Buyer Bureau has revealed where the market has really started to slide when looking at the change in average house price at postcode level.

In the GU25 postcode district of Runnymede, Surrey, the average asking price has plummeted by -£315,368, falling from roughly £1.9m in September to £1.6m today.

In the SO42 district of Hampshire’s New Forest, the average asking price has fallen from just over £1m to £781,257, a drop of -£289,605.

Meanwhile, in Worcester’s WR6 postcode prices have fallen by -£143,804, from £572,478 down to £428,674.

In Colchester’s CO8 district, prices have fallen from £607,429 to £466,333, a decline of -£141,096, and in Surrey’s KT24 postcode district, prices have dropped by -£135,092, from £1.1m to £969,638.

Significant price drops have also been recorded in Somerset’s BS28 (-£128,074), London’s SW3 (-£121,049) and WC2 (-£117,796), RG25 in Hampshire (-£116,234), and IV25 in the Scottish Highlands (-£104,861).

Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, commented:

“We’ve seen house prices pushed to record highs during the pandemic and with the market now cooling, it’s no surprise that property values are heading back down to earth.

Overall this return to reality has been a steady one but when analysing the market at a more granular level, there are certainly some areas where property values have really fallen through the floor in the wake of September’s mini-budget.

While we don’t anticipate this rot to set in across the entirety of the market, those currently pondering a move are advised to sell their home quickly if they wish to secure anywhere close to the pandemic highs of the last two years.”