Asking prices for UK homes barely rise in October, Rightmove says

LONDON (Reuters) - Asking prices for British homes rose only marginally in October as more properties came onto the market, according a survey on Monday that also suggested some buyers were waiting for clarity on tax changes in the new government's upcoming budget.

Asking prices rose by just 0.3% in October, well below their average for a 1.3% monthly increase for the month, property website Rightmove said.

The number of homes available for sale was 12% higher than the same time period last year, and was the highest per real estate agent since 2014.

Overall activity in the property market remained strong, with buyer demand rising.

Prices were 1.0% higher than a year earlier.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science, said some buyers were waiting for a further reduction in borrowing costs by the Bank of England as well as the government's budget later this month.

"Despite a budget-shaped cloud on the horizon, the big picture still looks positive for the market heading into 2025. Market activity remains strong, despite affordability pressures on movers," Bannister said.

"Once we have more certainty about the contents of the budget, hopefully followed by speedy second and third Bank Rate cuts, we could see another surge in market optimism like we had in the summer."

Monday's figures chimed with other indicators of Britain's housing sector that have shown momentum picking up. Mortgage lenders Halifax and Nationwide both reported rises in house prices in September.

Britain's finance minister Rachel Reeves will deliver her first budget on Oct. 30. Reeves has warned some taxes will have to increase, although she has said that Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government would not raise taxes on "working people".

The Times reported last week that Reeves will not extend an increase in the thresholds at which people start paying stamp duty on home purchases beyond its scheduled expiry in March.

The BoE is expected to cut its benchmark Bank Rate at its next meeting in November and possibly again in December.

Rightmove said a fall in mortgage rates was stalling after dropping quickly when the BoE cut borrowing costs for the first time in more than four years in August.

It said average 5-year fixed mortgage rates rose to 4.61% from 4.55% a week earlier, the first weekly increase since May.

(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; Editing by William Schomberg)