Seller asking prices fell between May and June, the first time this year, Rightmove’s house price index has revealed.
Buyer demand is currently affected by the current environment, in which rapid Bank of England base rate rises have fuelled rapidly increasing mortgage rates.
Despite the drop the reduction is negligible, falling by £82 on month-on-month.
Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove, said: “Average new seller asking prices, the first and leading indicator of new trends in the market, have dropped slightly this month, signalling that the belated spring price bounce has quickly turned into an earlier than usual summer slowdown.
“We expected some more twists and turns this year, and we’ve had several in the last month, including stubbornly high inflation figures, surprisingly large average wage increases, and their eventual impact on mortgage interest rates and availability.”
Over half of properties are taking longer to attract an offer, as 58% of houses are taking more than 30 days to receive an offer.
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, said: “As expected, recent mortgage market turbulence is dampening the increase in prices and activity which we would usually see at this time of year.
“However, these are, of course, only aspirational not achieved values. On the street, prices are softening as cash and equity-rich buyers in particular continue to hold sway over those relying on increasingly hard-to-obtain loans.
“Negative publicity is helping lower expectations and encourage more seller realism.”
On a 10-year basis prices typically rise by 0.6% in June.
This decrease is the first drop in June since 2007.
Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, said: “While it seemed a few weeks ago that we might be nearing the ceiling of rates rises, this past month and sentiments have shown that there’s still a way to go.
“The uncertainties, along with rates rises, have inevitably resulted in an insecure situation, with buyers not desperate to pull the trigger since they’re not sure what will happen with mortgage rates and whether they will meet affordability criteria once they come to take out a deal.
“Is it now time to get used to a ‘new world’ of interest rates trending at around 5 to 7 per cent, with buyers expecting and accepting these levels and making the numbers work for their situation, as well as being realistic as to what they can afford?”