Key Points

• Economic uncertainty spooks sellers, sending an early warning to sectors reliant on consumer spending:

  - the average asking price of a property coming to market tumbles by £7,528 (-3.1%) in a month, the largest monetary fall since December 2007 and third largest percentage fall on record

  - new seller shortage fails to underpin prices – listing numbers down 13% on previous month to lowest November level since collapse of Lehman Brothers as prospective sellers postpone their marketing

• Early onset of seasonal slowdown strengthens buyers’ negotiating power - 70% of home-movers feel it is currently a “bad time to sell”, offering opportunities for proceedable buyers to swoop

• 'Winter bargain opportunities’ for investors fuelled by rising rents and intensifying competition among buy-to-let lenders