<p><span>House prices are set to fall by up to 5% in 2023 with current annual price growth standing at 7.8%, the slowest rate of growth recorded since November 2021, according to Zoopla.</span></p> <p><span>The property portal’s latest UK House Price Index report recorded a drop in buyer demand of </span><span>44% year-on-year since the mini-Budget, with sales decreasing 28%, “now back to pre-pandemic levels,” the company said.</span></p> <p><span>Its data showed the average UK house price was now </span><span>£261,600. In the past three months, covering the period of the mini-Budget which affected the property market, price growth was 0.7%, the slowest rate of quarterly price growth seen since February 2020 “as fewer people look to move”.</span></p> <p><span>One in ten homes have experienced a price reduction of 5% or more since September 2022. In recent weeks, Zoopla said the average price achieved had been 3% below the asking price. For much of 2021 and the first half of 2022 this was 0%.</span></p> <p><span>In previous market “hotspots”, including the mid to upper price bands of Southern England, East Midlands and Wales, new sales have fallen up to 50%. Zoopla said sales had fallen less in more affordable areas as well as London, “where market conditions …